


Legacy of the Fire Ninja

by Carter2000



Series: The Fate Saga [2]
Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Angst, Drama & Romance, Dubious Consent, F/M, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, Underage Sex, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:55:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 13
Words: 102,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26942512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Carter2000/pseuds/Carter2000
Summary: What makes our identities? How do we grow into the people we are today, what would happen to us if our lives were altered, and how does one's identity form their legacy?It’s been one year since the events of “Unraveling Fate” and our ninja are still getting used to a new status quo. With one ninja gone, one new addition to the team, and one ninja returning a changed person, It’s going to take some time for our heroes to adjust. Unfortunately, time is almost never on the ninja’s side.When a mysterious threat attacks, the ninja make a discovery that focuses them to question who they are and who they could’ve been had life gone differently. With new and surprising allies, the ninja must discover this threat while contemplating their identities as well as their legacies.Will the ninja embrace who they are or will they lose themselves chasing false legacies?
Relationships: Cole/Jay Walker, Cole/Nya (Ninjago), Cole/Zane (Ninjago), Kai/Skylor (Ninjago), Lord Garmadon/Misako (Ninjago), Nya/Jay Walker
Series: The Fate Saga [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1819921
Comments: 44
Kudos: 24





	1. A new status quo

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the sequel to "Unraveling Fate." I'm excited to be here and can't wait to share this story with you guys. Be warned this does have references to season 13, "Master of the Mountain" of Ninjago as it does take place after that story. For context, the season is exactly the same except for the fact that Zane isn't there and Skylor takes Kai's place. I really hope you guys enjoy this story!

The two men sprinted through the dark office building. They heard the footsteps but couldn’t see the person they belonged to. The two men kept running until they were blasted from the side by a small ball of fire, hitting the wall and crashing to the ground. 

“Why the rush boys?” An invisible feminine voice asked, “I just want to talk.”

The two men got up and faced back to back, pulling out their combat knives.

“It’s the fire ninja!” One of the men cried out in fear.

“No it’s not.” The other guy cried out, “It's the girl pretending to be the fire ninja.”

Just then a force dropped onto the two guys and sent both of them flying with an explosion of fire. The first guy started to get up but felt something stab into his shoulder, He was then hit twice in the head and knocked out.  
The second man jumped up to see his unconscious partner and attached a wrist grappling hook. Next to the ninja in red and orange attire appeared. She pulled out two twin sais, each with a handle painted red and orange.

“Who says i’m pretending?” Skylor asked, “Now where's your leader?!”

“You won’t find him.” The man claimed, “but he’ll find you.”

With that, the man charged at Skylor, who easily side stepped him and sliced his thigh with her sai. Skylor then blasted him with a ball of fire and approached the man.

“Where is Black Mask?” Skylor asked as she lit up another ball of fire.

“When he’s done with you, he’ll unite the rest of the taskmasters and wipe out the rest of ninja.” Was all the man had to offer.

With that, Skylor knocked the man out and sighed. She had been working on the Black Mask case for the last month and she still had yet to find this man. Supposedly, he had a run in with Kai and now had a vendetta against anyone who held the mantle of the fire ninja.  
Skylor was interrupted from her thoughts by the sound of a helicopter outside the building. She jogged to the window and was illuminated by the helicopter’s searchlight, which cut into the early Sunday morning. Then she saw him. The Black Mask peered out of the helicopter and was definitely a sight for sore eyes. He was dressed in regular taskmaster etire but was also wearing a black trench coat coat on top of it, how dramatic. The more noticeable part of him was the black mask that was melted onto his face. It was infused to the skin to the point that it looked like it would never come off.  
The man with the metal caught a glance of the fire ninja and pulled out his rifle. Skylor turned around and sprinted to the other side to avoid the flurry of bullets. She slid behind a desk and hid from the searchlight. Black Mask continued shooting and eventually the window shattered. Skylor watched as the helicopter tried to circle the building and made her move once it came back to the shattered window.  
Skylor jumped out of her hiding spot and fired a ball of fire to the Black Mask's rifle. The weapon flew out of his hand and Skylor ran towards the edge of the building.  
Skylor had been training to use airjitzu and so far had failed to perform it. Skylor knew that this was a perfect time to take out the Black Mask. She jumped out of the building and concentrated on the movements and form, but she hesitated out of fear. The possibility of plummeting down to the ground below caused Skylor’s focus to waiver and she started falling. As the helicopter pulled away, Skylor panicked as she fell to the ground, which only ensured that she wouldn’t be able to concentrate. Skylor continued to fall until she saw a dragon of water emerge from behind a building. She leaned herself towards the dragon and landed on it with a hard thud.

Skylor recovered and looked out to see that the helicopter was gone, “Damnit!”

“If I had a dollar for every time you jumped out of a building...” Nya called from upfront.

“I should’ve been able to do it.” Skylor grumbled.

“Learning airjitzu takes time,” Nya pointed out, “None of us learned it automatically.”

“Did it take you guys a year?” Skylor asked.

Nya didn’t respond.

“I thought not.” Skylor replied, “That was the closest I’ve gotten to Black Mask. Now the bastard’s gotten away.”

“We’ll get him, don’t worry.” Nya assured.

Skylor sighed, “Where’s Pixal?”

“It’s Sunday, remember?”

“Right. Sometimes I forget that a year isn’t a long time, especially for grieving.” Skylor thought aloud.

“I guess. I know that Cole and Pixal were hit the hardest by Zane’s death,” Nya hesitantly started, “but we need them.”

Nya thought about Zane and felt her face drop downward as the sadness briefly took over. She then shook her head and refocused on flying the dragon back to the base. Skylor wanted to speak up but she and Nya had been through this conversation before, it always ended with silence. Instead, Skylor closed her eyes and focused on her problem at hand, that being Black Mask and the rest of the taskmasters.  
All Skylor knew about Black Mask, besides his hatred for the fire ninja, was that he used to be a part of the taskmasters. The taskmasters had a rough year. Even since Briggs and Zhang were killed, the taskmasters had been lost. Over time two groups formed. The majority was led by Black Mask and turned into a fledgling drug business that dealt with hallucinogenic drugs. Black Mask had set up in the squalors but was eager to push his business to the rest of Ninjago. And with the training that Zhang had so gracefully bestowed to them, The taskmasters could easily become a drug empire.  
They just had two problems, one was that Skylor, the new fire ninja, was slowly tracking them down and dismantling their operations.  
The other was that not every taskmaster wanted to follow under Black Mask’s plan. Many taskmasters criticized Black Mask’s operations, saying that they were created to destroy drug gangs, not become one. These taskmasters eventually broke off to form their own group, the Pioneers, and sought to recruit more people to their ranks, under the guise of returning to protect the squalors like they once used to. They did, however, disagree with how much freedom Zhang had allowed the citizens. The Pioneers believed that allowance of freed would lead to the decline of the squalors and as such, they ruled over their areas with a brutal iron fist. Most rules broken meant capitol punishment and as a result, created areas where everyone was too scared to commit crimes.  
These two groups disagreed with each other over who should control the squalors and eventually broke out into a civil war. Just like that, all the good that Zhang had done for the squalors over the course of the last few decades had threatened to come undone by the same people who were supposed to protect the innocent. Both sides were gaining momentum, were recruiting a lot of new members, and arming themselves with dozens of weapons. The Pioneers and Taskmasters were on the brink of a bloody war that could wipe out the squalors and all the people who lived there. And Skylor was supposed to be the one to figure out how to stop this war...great.  
Even with Nya and Pixal backing her up, Skylor felt a little overwhelmed with the big picture. So she decided to take out Black Mask. With him behind bars, the taskmasters would probably fall and the Remnants would be more cooperative. Skylor had briefly thought of letting the two sides wipe each other out but decided that there would be too much collateral damage.  
Skylor groaned as she thought about the countless nights she’d now have to spend finding leads on Black Mask, assuming that she was still the fire ninja by the end of the week. Skylor glanced at the building that they passed and thought that she saw someone crouching in the corner of the roof. But when she looked back at the building, it was just shadows. Skylor took that as a sign that she needed more sleep.  
When Nya and Skylor landed at the monastery, they showered before going off on their various activities. Nya walked to Wu’s room and knocked on the door. Wu opened the door and invited Nya into the room where there were two yoga mats paralleled to each other.  
This was part of Wu’s attempts to help Nya learn to control her anger. She had almost lost herself last year and wanted to learn to never let her anger get the best of her again.

“Anything specifically troubling you today?” Wu asked as he sat down in a criss-cross position.

Nya copied her sensei’s motions and responded, “Black Mask got away and Skylor is beating herself up about so, the usual.”

Wu closed his eyes and took a deep breath before replying, “Skylor seems to have a habit of letting her eagerness put her into situations where she is in over her head. She should learn the value of patience and discipline lest she winds up sharing Morro’s fate. Now enough about her.”

Nya closed her eyes and started meditating while Wu spoke.

“As always, these meditation sessions are instructed with two goals in mind. One is to find the source of your anger and revolve it. The other is to work on your patience so that we do not have a repeat of last year. Now, let us begin.”

Cole focused on his breathing as he sat criss-cross on a floating rock. Ever since his visit to Shintaro, six months ago, he had been working on his geokinesis. He’d like to think that he was making good progress. Cole closed his eyes and felt the circle of boulders that surrounded him. Some of them were human sized, others were as small as a bowling ball.  
Cole extended his left hand to the bowling ball sized boulder and lifted it with ease. He then aimed his right hand at the larger boulder and felt it bend to his control. Cole felt the strain as the boulder slowly lifted off of the ground. Cole set both of the boulders down and concentrated his focus inward.  
Cole thought of the energy he felt when he did the spinjitzu burst against the Skull Sorcerer. He tried to conjure that same amount of power but drew nothing.  
Cole set his palms on the ground. He then divided his focus on each of the rocks that surrounded him. Cole felt his control extend out to each of them and started trying to lift all of the rocks at the same. Cole started sweating as they started lifting each of the boulders off the ground. Cole extended his arms to further assert his control over them when he felt something hit him from the back of his head.  
All at once, Cole lost his focus and all of the boulders fell, including the one he was on. Luckily Cole was able to flip midair and land safely where he turned around to see Pixal holding a pebble.

“You are lucky that it was not an actual weapon.” Pixal said as she tossed the pebble to the earth ninja.

Cole caught it and replied, “It still hurt though.”

He dropped the pebble and followed Pixal into the monastery to get ready. It was Sunday, and Cole and Pixal always went out to brunch on Sundays. It was their way of keeping each other from falling apart since Zane passed. They had both agreed that every Sunday, just the two of them would go to brunch and talk about whatever was on their mind. It wasn’t the best option, but it was better than therapy.  
And so there they were, two hours later. Cole and Pixal sat opposed to each other at the small diner. The waiter brought them their usual food as they sat in silence. For Cole, it was a double bacon breakfast sandwich which had brownies and two cups of coffee. Pixal had a vegetarian omelette with a glass of water. Pixal sat there mesmerised, as always, by how savagely Cole dug into his food. Even after a year of eating with Cole, Pixal still couldn’t understand how Cole could eat so much junk food and still manage to keep his physique.

Cole finally swallowed his food and spoke up, “So...how are the poetry classes?”

Pixal looked slightly caught off guard before responding, “Exquisite. They are extremely helpful at letting me express my emotional turmoil. How are you doing?”

Cole ruffled through his hair, “I’m...i’m getting better. I have a date tonight.”

Pixal smiled a little and leaned forward, “Do tell.”

Cole blushed and sipped his coffee before responding, “It’s the same guy from last time, Shane.”

“Oh, a second date? I understand…”

“Calm down, Pixal. It doesn’t mean anything. Besides, it’s the fourth date.”

“fourth date? This appears to be the beginning of a serious relationship.” Pixal said.

“Pixal, it doesn’t mean anything.” Cole insisted.

“Of course.” Pixal took a sip of her water, “So explain to the qualities of this ‘Shane’.”

“Um, well he’s really polite and smart. He’s always nice to everyone and he’s always sharing these random facts. I usually don’t like book worms but he’s pretty cool when he does it. He’s in school for a robotics engineering degree, he actually just applied for a program to study abroad in Jamonikai Village. He also likes cooking, he makes the best chocolate cake i’ve ever had. He even has this little apron that he’s always wearing when he cooks. And–hey Pixal, are you ok?”

Pixal wiped the perturbed expression off her face and responded, “Nothing...he sounds nice.”

“Are you sure?” Cole gently grabbed Pixal’s hand, “Talk to me Pixal.”

Pixal stood up, “I’m sorry, I need to go.”

Pixal walked out of the door as Cole stood up after her. 

“Pixal wait!” Cole called out.

But it was too late as Pixal was already out of the diner. Cole shook his head and paid for brunch before leaving. Cole spent the rest of the day trying to contact Pixal, to no avail. After about three hours of searching and calling, Cole hesitantly went to go get ready for his date. He was wearing a black tux with a dark blue tie and had his hair slicked back into a small pompadour.  
Cole skimmed through the next few hours making his way through the date but despite his attempts at focusing, Cole kept getting concerned over Pixal.

“Is something on your mind?”

Cole refocused his attention on the matter at hand. He was locking arms with Shane as they walked across the Ninjago parkway. It was nighttime and Cole’s belly felt heavy with the dinner he just had. The nighttime sky was lit up with lights and the cool air allowed Cole to see his breath.

“Cole?” A soft voice called out.

Cole looked over to see that Shane was looking at him, slightly concerned. His bright blue eyes were staring at Cole with curiosity and a slight tinge of worry. His blonde hair was neatly cut into a flat top and he was wearing a very light grey tuxedo with a white tie.  
Cole knew he had to respond in order to deter Shane from getting angry so he took a deep breath and spoke.

“Sorry Shane, it’s nothing.” 

Shane looked at Cole with disbelief and replied, “You’re aware that your left eye twitches when you lie right?”

Cole scoffed, “No I don’t.”

Shane let out a small chuckle and pulled into Cole. He wrapped his arms around Cole’s back and rested his head on Cole’s right shoulder. 

“Come on,” Shane pleaded, “something’s bothering you and it’s taking your mind. If you don’t wanna tell me, that’s fine but I would rather end the date earlier so you can deal with whatever it is than have you only half here.”

“No, you’re right.” Cole quickly responded, “I’m sorry. It’s Pixal, she walked out on brunch this morning.”

“I take it that she’s not in the best mood?” Shane guessed.

“I was describing you and she freaked out, and I don’t know why.”

Shane pulled back, “Me?”

Cole continued walking with Shane as he answered, “Yeah but I don’t know why.”

“...Is she ok with this?” Shane hesitantly asked while pointing to himself and Cole.

“Yeah. She’s got nothing against you or us.” Cole assured.

“Are you ok with this? With us?” Shane pondered.

“Yeah, of course I am. It’s just that I don’t know how to help her. She hasn’t been the same since...since...” 

“Since Zane?” Shane asked.

“Yeah.” Cole softly responded.

“You should go check on her.” Shane suggested, “We can always do a raincheck on this date.”

Cole shook his head, “No, I’d rather stay here.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah–” Cole moved in and gently kissed Shane, “now tell one of your facts.”

Shane raised an eyebrow, “Are you certain?”

“Yeah,” Cole resolved, “I just want to be distracted right now.”

“Ok, did you know that the reason water expands when it freezes is that frozen water forms crystal structures?”

"Really?" Cole asked.

"Yes, we learned it in biology." Shane confirmed.

"Hmm...do you need to take bio?" Cole asked. 

"Yes. It's a general education requirement."

“Ok.” Cole resolved before asking, “Hey, did you ever find out if you got accepted for the study abroad?" 

“Yes, I got accepted.” Shane confirmed.

“Shane, that’s great! When do you leave?”

Shane hesitated before responding, “In three weeks.”

“What?” Cole asked with surprise, “Three weeks. When did you find out?”

“...About two weeks ago.”

Cole shook his head, “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I was going to tell you tonight but we got distracted.” Shane stated.

“Were you really going to tell me tonight?”

“Of course.” Shane insisted.

Cole sighed, “So what does this mean for us? Could we handle a long distance relationship?”

“I don’t know, but I’d prefer not to think about that right now.” Shane responded, “It’s getting late, would you like to head back to my place?”

Cole knew that Shane was changing the subject to avoid answering the question. Cole interpreted that to mean that the chances of them maintaining a relationship weren’t looking great. However, Cole also didn’t want to worry about that tonight.

“Sure,” Cole answered, “let’s go.”

After crashing on Shane’s couch, Cole left in the early morning and bought a bouquet of dark red roses at the local floral shop. He then took off on his dragon and flew to a certain cemetery. No one else knew this but Cole always came here with a bouquet of roses. He didn’t know if it was he was dedicated to remembering his brother or if he was just stuck in the past.  
Cole landed and climbed off of his dragon. He walked to the grave of his brother and found it surrounded by old dead flowers, some of which were his old bouquets.  
Ninjago had celebrated Zane’s life and mourned his passing for a while, but now it seemed that everyone was done grieving the ice ninja’s death.  
Cole cleaned up the dead flowers and threw them away. Then, he used the sleeve of his jacket to brush some of the dirt off of the tombstone and gently set his bouquet down. Cole then took in a deep breath before speaking up and having the same conversation he had every time he visited.

“Hey Zane, I know I was only here a few days ago but, I just wanted to talk to you.”

Cole cleared his throat before continuing, “Everyone is doing pretty ok. Nya’s trying to not be as angry, Kai’s leaving prison tomorrow, Lloyd and Wu are staying strong as always. Skylor doing a pretty good job as the fire ninja, she doesn’t think she is but she’s a lot better than we were when we started. Remember when we first met? We all jumped Kai in the middle of the night?”

Cole briefly smiled before the lack of a response brought him back to reality.

“Uh yeah, Skylor’s doing good. Jay’s been in his therapy and he seems a lot better. He’s definitely a lot less anxious, you’d be proud of him.

Pixal’s....Pixal’s not doing so good. She says that she’s getting better, but I don’t know if I believe that. She says that she’s doing these poem classes but she never has a poem. I don’t know, maybe she’s just shy about her poems, I hope that's all it is.

You know, you could just come back to life right? Nothing’s stopping you.”

Silence was the only answer that Cole received.

“I thought not... You know something I don’t get? I see everyone around me moving on with their lives. Ninjago’s moved on, the ninja have moved on, but I haven’t.”

Cole felt his tears welling up as he continued, “I don’t know what to do but I can’t get over you dying. Every time I try, all I can think about is how I never told you the truth. You died believing that I was honest and I was lying to you the whole time. And I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry I never told you who I really was. I’m sorry I never told you about my feelings for you. I’m sorry I never told you about my sexuality. I just– i’m sorry.”

Cole wiped his tears away and made a promise, “I promise that I'll keep up your legacy Zane, I promise to keep your memory alive. It’s the least I can do.”

Cole calmed down and turned away to leave. Cole wasn’t in the mood for flying on a dragon so he called over a taxi. While he waited, Cole pulled out his phone and called Pixal. After a few seconds, Pixal answered, which was weird since Pixal always picked up immediately.

“Was there something you needed Cole?” Pixal asked.

“Nothing, I just wanted to ask you if you were ok.” Cole responded, “You kind of freaked out yesterday and I wanted to say i’m sorry if I did anything wrong.”

“Negative it had nothing to do with you,” Pixal assured, “It was just that hearing you describe Shane made me think of Zane. I apologize for walking out on brunch.”

“It’s final, Pixal, I just worry about you sometimes.”

“I am functioning at a healthy rate. Now, if you excuse me, I have a poetry class to attend.”

Pixal hung up her phone before she could reply. She then sat back against the destroyed wall of an abandoned subway station. It was the subway station where she lost him and now it’s her place of solitude. Pixal always came here when she needed to be alone. Pixal reached to her side and picked up a small wooden box. Pixal opened the box to find, among some tapes and a VR player, a blue and white engagement ring. It was dusty but Pixal didn’t care, slipped it on her finger and immediately felt relief.  
Pixal then looked at the tapes and started sifting through them. After Zane died, Pixal had copied all of her memories involving the ice ninja and put them on these tapes. She still had her memories, but these were a back-up in case something had ever happened to her memory unit. Now, they gave Pixal a way to relieve the days when her best friend and fiancé was still alive. Pixal found the one labeled, “First meeting with Zane.”  
Pixal, while wearing her engagement ring, slipped the tape into the VR player. She then put the VR player on her face and started watching memories of her deceased friend.

“Well, Jay,” Dr. Douglas started, “I think you’ve made a lot of progress in the last year.”

“Haha...yeah.” Jay said, “But um, is it bad if I don’t feel that way?”

“No, not at all.” Dr. Douglas answered, “Oftentimes, we change without realizing it. It’s only when we look back that we see our progress.”

“Ok.” Jay replied.

“And besides, This doesn’t mean that you’re ‘cured’. It doesn’t mean that you’ll never think or feel the same things that you used to. It just means that you’re in a healing process and others see it, even if you don’t.”

“Oh...So am I fixed?” Jay asked.

“Remember what we said about the words ‘fixed’ and ‘broken’?” Dr. Douglas asked.

“Oh, right. So I’m still healing? But i’m not hurting right?” Jay asked.

Dr. Douglas shrugged her shoulders, “That’s up to you Jay. You’re the only one who truly knows what you’re feeling. What I can say about you is that I think you’re healing, emphasis on ‘think’. Tell me, Jay, what do you think?”

Jay thought for a moment before responding, “I-i’m not sure. I don’t constantly think about my failures anymore but i’m still afraid of failing. I haven’t had a panic attack in a while. I don’t solely blame myself for Nadakhan and Unagami but I still feel like I helped get Nya killed. I don’t feel like everything’s my fault but I still know that I screw up a lot of stuff. Is that normal?”

“Of course Jay. It’s like I said, you’re healing, not healed.” Dr. Douglas reiterated, “Now, as we continue with these sessions, I have a job for you.”

Jay looked a little surprised, “A job, I hate jobs.”

Dr. Douglas kept up her neutral face and added, “It’s something that I want you to consider while we aren’t in our meetings. I want you to contemplate your identity.”

“My identity?” 

“Yes, I want you to define who you are.” Dr. Douglas said, “When we first started these meetings, you said that you felt like you were always failing and making things worse. In the year since, I’ve seen you grow and change as a person. Now I want you to consider who you are, what makes you your identity.”

“No offense doc, but why?”

“Knowing the way you now see yourself might show how much you’ve changed.” Dr. Douglas explained, “It’ll also help me find areas for us to focus on. It’s not an assignment and I don’t need an essay. It’s just something to consider.”

Jay thought about it and then nodded, “Ok.”

“Good. Now, our time’s just about up. Anything else you want to talk about before we conclude the session?”

“No.”

“Ok, well I’ll see you next week Jay.” Dr. Douglas said as she got up and led Jay out of the room.

Jay walked out of Dr. Douglas’ room and to the front desk where he confirmed his next appointment. Jay then walked out of the clinic and conjured his dragon.  
Jay climbed onto the dragon but froze when he heard some rustling coming from somewhere close. It felt like he was being watched. After scanning the area, Jay decided that he was getting too energetic and took off on his electric dragon.

Jay landed at the monastery and found that Skylor and Nya were crouching down next to a door. He approached in a confused manner and when they saw him, they both motioned at him to keep quiet and come over.

“What are you guys doing?” Jay asked with a whisper.

“Be quiet.” Nya said in a hushed tone, “We’re trying to see if Lloyd passed his sensei test.”

“Lloyd and Wu have been in there for a while.” Skylor added.

“Well what are they saying?” Jay asked.

“It’s hard to say but Wu’s been talking for a while.” Skylor noted.

Just then, the door opened and Skylor, Nya, and Jay were caught completely red handed by Wu and Lloyd. Lloyd attempted a face of neutrality but was clearly disappointed. 

“You guys are really loud for being ninja.” Lloyd stated as he walked away.

The three ninja stood up to face Wu.

“Well at the very least, his perception is improving.” Wu said.

“He didn’t pass?” Nya asked with surprise in her voice.

“No,” Wu responded, “though it is none of your concern.”

“Why not?” Jay whined, “Lloyd the best of all of us, he’s a great leader. What happened?”

Wu sighed, “Well if you must know. Lloyd is very capable but very doubting of himself. He believes that his problems are physical not mental. One can’t not be a sensei if they don’t trust in themselves and remain confident, even in spite of how many mistakes they might make.”

“That’s it?” Jay asked, “Lloyd failed because he’s not confident enough?”

“It is not as simple as that.” Wu defended, “A sensei will influence their students more than anyone could ever realize. I see parts of myself in all of you and I’m sure you each could see parts of yourselves and each other in me. A sensei who lacks confidence and self-trust passes that on to their students and in the midst of a battle, these two qualities could be just as deadly as your opponent.”

“We understand sensei.” Nya said.

“Good, now maybe you three could practice on minding one’s business.” Wu suggested as he walked off.

Jay turned to face Nya and Skylor, “Does Lloyd really think he’s not good enough?”

“Yes but I don’t get why.”Skylor responded.

“It sounds like two other people I know.” Nya said while staring at Jay and Skylor.

“Ok ok, I get it.” Jay retorted while crossing his arms.

Nya smirked and turned towards Skylor, “Any ideas on tracking Black Mask?”

“Actually yes.” Skylor responded, “I want to attack his base to draw him out.”

“Nice,” Nya responded, “If we find his base, we’ll take him down in no time.”

Skylor nodded, “I’ll go start tracking places that are seeing a lot of drug activity.”

Skylor walked to the map room, leaving Jay and Nya. 

Jay turned to Nya, “You and Skylor are really busy with Black Mask.”

Nya pulled Jay into a hug, “Yeah. Don’t get me wrong, I love Skylor to pieces but Black Mask is a pretty tough case for her to start her ninja career with.” 

“Hmm, you love her?” Jay teased.

“Oh stop.” Nya said before kissing Jay.

Nya pulled back and said, “You know...we haven’t had much to ourselves lately.”

“I’ll say.” Jay responded.

“We have time right now.” Nya claimed.

She then kissed Jay more aggressively, making it clear exactly what she wanted from her financè. Nya grabbed the back of Jay's head while Jay gripped Nya's hips. 

"Can you guys not do that in the courtyard?" A familiar voice called out.

Nya and Jay turned to face Cole who was walking away from a taxi. 

"You guys have a room for a reason." Cole said as he approached the two lovebirds. 

Jay blushed with embarrassment as he tried to change the subject, "Where've you been? I didn't see you hear this morning."

"I was at Shane's." Cole answered.

"Oh really?" Jay said with a shit eating grin.

"Nothing happened Jay." 

"Ok." Jay responded sarcastically, "you went over to Shane's and nothing happened."

"Well we're probably gonna break up so it doesn't matter anyways." Cole retorted.

"Wait what?!" Jay asked, but Cole had already started walking away.

Nya lightly elbowed Jay in his hip.

"Ow. What was that for? I didn't know he was breaking up with Shane." Jay defended. 

Nya rolled her eyes, "Come on, let's go cheer up your boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend…" Jay grumbled as he and Nya walked to Cole's room.

When Nya and Jay reached Cole's room, Jay walked right in, surprising Nya who usually knocked. Cole was sitting on his bed listening to his music. When Jay and Nya walked in Cole stood up and turned off his music. Nya nudged Jay forward and he spoke up.

"Hey Cole.” Jay started, “Sorry about Shane. I didn’t know you two broke up.”

“We didn’t break up.” Cole corrected, “Shane just said that he was moving to Jamonikai Village to study abroad and didn’t seem to want to have a long-term relationship.”

“So you two broke up.” Nya said.

“I think we're going to break up.” Cole answered.

“His loss.” Jay stated, “Anyone would be lucky to date you.”

Cole smiled a little, “Thanks.”

“We should go out.” Jay impulsively said, “When’s the last time us three hung out?”

Nya smiled, “I’d like that.”

“Me too, but...I don’t if i’m up for it tonight.” Cole added, “Why don’t you two go out?”

“Now there’s an idea that I love.” Nya asserted.

“You sure Cole?” Jay asked, “I love a good date with Nya but I want to make sure that you’re doing fine.”

“I’m fine Jay, you two should go on your date.”

“Ok.” Jay responded before leaving Cole’s room.

Nya faced Cole and said, “If you want to tag along, don’t be afraid to call.”

Once Nya left, Cole closed his door and turned his music back on. He laid back on his bed and pulled out three small pebbles. As Cole used his powers to levitate and maneuver the pebbles around his fingers, he thought about the recent events. Pixal was hiding something, Cole didn’t know what it was but he knew that she wasn’t as ok as she made herself out to be. Shane was moving and didn’t tell Cole until he asked him, their relationship was probably done for. Cole couldn’t move on from Zane, he had too many regrets to do so.  
All Cole knew was that he felt too exhausted to deal with these problems, and he didn’t even know why he was tired. Cole sighed and levitated his pebbles to his desk. He set them down and turned off the lights. Cole then pulled up his sheets and started his early night of restless attempts at sleeping.

Later that day, Skylor was continuing to track any signs of Black Mask’s base on the electronic map while listening to the radio. She knew that she shouldn’t, all anyone ever talked about was whether or not Skylor was as good as Kai was. And now that a year has passed, many stations are airing an analysis of Skylor’s first year as the fire ninja.  
Some stations were harsh on her, saying that she clearly wasn’t experienced enough to be a ninja without getting herself killed. Skylor wondered how many of those opinions would change if she ever personally saved them.  
Then there were the other stations. They thought that Skylor had been doing a fine job since she hadn't done anything like get banished to another realm, release an evil video game, or have an evil dad. While Skylor appreciated the support, she wasn’t a fan of how they put the other ninja down to make her look good.  
And then there was Kai. He was getting out of jail tomorrow and Skylor couldn’t wait to see him. But at the same time, she couldn’t help but wonder how long it’d be before she was stripped of the fire ninja mantle. In the year that Kai had been away, Skylor had felt useful and needed. Now that Kai was coming back, Skylor was going to have to accept that she was going to become the background noodle shop owner again.  
Skylor wasn’t selfish for thinking that, was she? Skylor knew that Kai was the true fire ninja but she didn’t want to just be kicked to the curb. Skylor would never stop Kai from being the fire ninja, she just hoped that she wouldn’t be forgotten when Kai came back.  
Skylor was pulled out of her thoughts by a beeping on the electronic map. She checked the map and found that a location was being highlighted. Skylor was surprised at how fast the algorithm worked and called any available ninja to the bridge of the Bounty. After about a minute, Cole and Lloyd arrived on the bridge, dressed and ready to go.  
Cole and Lloyd were wearing their gi’s they got from Cyrus Borg last year. The white lines highlighted their black and green colors, a stark reminder of the price of being a hero. Skylor’s fire ninja gi was similar to Kai’s gi. It was orange red instead of Kai’s deep red color. While it did have white lines, the belt was Skylor’s orange color. 

“What’s going on Skylor?” Lloyd asked.

“I’ve found Black Mask’s base and...where’s everyone else?”

“Nya and Jay went on a date and Pixal’s been gone all day.” Cole answered.

“Wait, did you say that you found Black Mask’s base?” Lloyd asked.

“Yes.” Skylor answered, “It’s at the edge of the squalors, looks like Black Mask is trying to reach the rest of Ninjago City. 

“So let’s go beat up Black Mask.” Cole claimed.

“But there’s not enough of us to take it down.” Skylor determined.

“Well who says we need to take the whole base?” Lloyd pondered.

“Well you’re the expert on Black Mask,” Cole added, “could we just take him out and let the whole base crumble?”

Skylor thought about it for a second before responding, “If i’m right, Black Mask is a big part of the taskmaster’s drug business, then he could take him out and weaken the whole system. Then we strike them down and focus on the Pioneers.”

“We’re gonna have to be sneaky if it’s only the three of us.” Cole noted.

Lloyd nodded, “Ok. This is your case, how do you want to go about this?”

“If we play this right, we can catch Black Mask and shut down his drug business at the same time.” Skylor started, “You two call the Commissioner and have him set up a perimeter around the base with the police. I’ll sneak up on Black Mask and take him out. After I take him out, we’ll storm the base and shut it down. What do you guys think?”

“You kick Black Mask’s butt and we take out the base, got it.” Cole confirmed.

Lloyd spoke up, “Let’s put out a bulletin to Jay, Nya, and Pixal. Just in case we need the back-up.” 

Skylor nodded in agreement and went over to set a course for the base. 

As they approached the base, the Bounty turned invisible and elevated to go above the four story building that was Black Mask’s headquarters. The Commissioner had about two squads of police hidden in nearby abandoned buildings and businesses. The Bounty stopped and elevated right above the base and the three ninja grouped together on the deck. 

“Ok,” Lloyd started, “Cole and I will drop down and meet up with the Commissioner. Then we’ll wait for your call before we storm the building. Will you be ok sneaking into the base on your own?”

“Yeah.” Skylor asserted, “Let’s go stop some drug dealers.”

Cole and Lloyd nodded at each other before jumping off the left side of the Bounty. They fell towards the abandoned buildings with the cops before using airjitzu to break their fall.  
Skylor grabbed a parachute from the bridge of the Bounty and slipped it on. She then ran and jumped off of the right side of the deck and fell towards Black Mask’s base. Skylor aimed for the helicopter pad and opened up her parachute. Skylor glided down and landed right next to the helicopter. She took off the parachute, kicked it off the building, and turned invisible. A taskmaster walked onto the rooftop and walked to the helicopter. Skylor snuck behind him and went into the building entrance before scaling down a flight of stairs and entering the fourth story..  
The interior was surprisingly clean. The white floors were mopped and the walls were scrubbed. From what Skylor saw, the rooms seemed to be put together and organized. These were probably some of the most organized drug dealers that Skylor had ever seen. This operation was a lot more complex than Skylor wanted to admit, which meant that it would be even harder to take down.  
Skylor rounded a corner and almost walked straight into her target. Black Mask was walking with three taskmasters and barely missed Skylor as she scampered back into the corner. Skylor was expecting Black Mask to be alone, but now that he had these three taskmasters following him, her job just got a lot harder. Skylor held her breath in the corner and waited for the four men to pass her. When they walked into a room Skylor snuck into a closet and radioed Lloyd.

“Pst, Lloyd.”

“I’m here,” Lloyd responded, “have you found him?”

“Yeah.” Skylor confirmed, “But he’s got some bodyguards with him. Can you guys start your raid early to distract them?”

“You got it.” Lloyd replied before logging off the radio.

Skylor slowly opened the closet and saw Black Mask in what looked like a meeting. Suddenly, a large booming sound from below was heard, followed by shooting and yelling. The lights in the building turned red and everyone ran out of the offices. Black Mask ran out of his room and pulled a taskmaster aside to question him.

“What the fuck is going on?!” Black Mask asked.

“We’re being attacked!” The taskmaster responded in a panicked tone.

“The Pioneers are attacking us?” Black Mask questioned, “That’s impossible, they shouldn’t have–”

“It’s not the Pioneers! It’s the cops!” The taskmaster yelled.

“How did they find us?!” Black Mask bellowed.

“I don’t know but the ninja are helping them.”

Black Mask shook his head in surprise before dropping the taskmaster, “No...Fuck! They’re gonna fuck everything up!”

One of Black Mask’s guards walked up to him, “We need to get you out of here. Let’s get to the chopper.”

With that black mask was escorted by his guards to the stairs to get to the top of the building. Skylor tried to follow him but was quickly stopped by the taskmasters who poured in to support the fight against the police. She fell back into the corner of the hallway, held her breath and waited for the rest of the taskmasters to pass her. A few moments later and only one remained. Skylor snuck up behind him and kicked the back of the taskmaster’s knees. She then put him in a choke hold before knocking him out.  
After setting the taskmaster down Skyler rushed up the flight of stairs and burst onto the roof of the building. She saw Black Mask and he saw her. He signaled the pilot and the helicopter started lifting into the sky. Black mask then pulled out his pistol and started firing at Skylor. She dodged the first couple of shots and then launched a fireball, knocking the gun out of Black Mask’s hand. Black mask gripped his now burnt hand while Skyler ran to catch the helicopter.  
By the time that Skylor got to the edge, the helicopter was in the air and Black Mask was only seconds away from getting away again. Skylor only had one option to get Black Mask, airjitzu.  
Skylor backed up a few steps and took a deep breath, she couldn’t be afraid and she couldn’t be scared. Being a ninja meant being fearless, and that meant taking a leap of faith. Skylor felt the fire running through her veins as she took off to the edge of the building. She leaped off the edge and went through the motions of airjitzu. Skylor put all of her focus into her airjitzu and felt her fearlessness give way to flight. Skylor was doing it, she flew towards the helicopter, much to the surprise of Black Mask.

“What the–” Black Mask started before Skylor aimed for the helicopter.

Skylor flew straight into the side of the helicopter and opened the side door. She grabbed onto Black Mask’s trench coat and pulled Black Mask to the edge of the helicopter. Skylor wrapped her arms around Black Mask’s body and pushed them both out of the helicopter. Skylor used airjitzu to guide them to the rooftop and dropped them both on the helipad.  
Skylor and Black Mask both had a rough landing on the roof. They both got up and faced each other, Black Mask drew a combat knife and held it in a reverse grip in his right hand. In return, Skylor drew her twin sais and faced her opponent. 

“Your drug business is over.” Skylor yelled.

“You don’t scare me.” Black Mask growled, “I know that you’re not the real fire ninja. He was a real threat, he did this–” Black Mask gestured to the mask that was burned onto his face, “–to me when the real ninja tried to stop the Fate Killer last year. He’s the real fire ninja, you’re just some bitch in over her head.  
I’ve been waiting a long to to fuck up the fire ninja for what he did to me. You wanna be the fire ninja so badly? Fine! Once i’ve killed you, I’ll melt your mask onto your face and show it to the other ninja before I slaughter them.”

Skylor got into her stance and responded, “We’ll see about that…”

Skylor threw her right sai at Black Mask, who dodged and charged at the fire ninja. Black Mask swung at Skylor but was blocked by her left sai. Skylor took the opportunity to throw a right cross into Black Mask’s throat and then delivered a right hook into his ribcage. Black Mask grunted as she knocked the knife out of his hand and slammed the butt end of her sai into Black Mask’s right temple. Black Mask then pushed Skylor back with a front kick. She recovered and waited for him to advance. Skylor dodged Black Mask’s right jab and then ducked under his left hook. Skylor sliced across Black Mask’s left leg with her sai and stood up to stab him in the right shoulder. Skylor then racked the sai down Black Mask’s right shoulder, pulled it out, and then kneed him in the diaphragm with her left knee.  
Black Mask fell onto his butt and slammed the ground in anger. He rushed up, angry and reckless, and swung at Skylor. Skylor dodged his right jab, blocked his left cross, and ducked under his right hook. Skylor came up and grabbed Black Mask’s head before kneeing him in the face.  
Skylor then finished Black Mask off by blasting him with a fireball, knocking him to the edge of the building.

Skylor approached Black Mask as he slowly recovered, “You’ve lost.”

Black Mask got up with a pained grunt and spat Skylor’s feet, “Bitch.”

Skylor was about to apprehend Black Mask when, out of nowhere, the helicopter flew up into view. The helicopter side door opened and a taskmaster aimed an automatic rifle at Skylor and started firing. Skylor ran to the roof door to take cover while Black Mask limped to the helicopter. Black Mask jumped on the helicopter and they took off before Skylor could run after them. 

“No!” Skylor shouted as the helicopter disappeared behind some buildings.

Skylor threw her sai down in frustration and cursed to herself, how could she have let Black Mask get away again? Just then, the roof door opened up and Skylor turned around to see Cole and Lloyd scanning the building.

“The cops have control over the building.” Lloyd announced, “Where’s Black Mask?”

Skylor walked past him and mumbled, “He got away...again.”

Two hours later and Skylor was sitting on the edge of some random building rooftop. Lloyd and Cole had offered to stay and gave statements to the police and Skylor had just wanted to be alone. Skylor heard footsteps behind her and spoke up.

“What do you want Nya?”

Skylor stood up to face the water ninja, dressed in her gi.

“Sorry for being late.” Nya offered, “I didn’t know that we’d find Black Mask the same day you started tracking him.”

Skylor didn’t respond so Nya asked, “Where was Pixal?”

Skylor shrugged her shoulders, “I don’t know, could’ve used her though.”

The two ninja looked at each other with Nya trying to figure out what was bothering Skylor. But unbeknownst to either of them. A figure had been watching them from a distance. They were scouting the ninja with a scope...attached to a sniper rifle.

“I heard that you used airjitzu tonight, good job.” Nya offered.

Skylor shook her head, “Too bad I couldn’t get Black Mask.”

“Yeah but you tracked his base.” Nya pointed out, “You led Lloyd, Cole, and the police here and took out his headquarters. You probably set him back at least a year.”

Skylor ignored Nya’s comment and replied, “Kai would’ve gotten Black Mask.”

Nya walked to Skylor, “Is that what this is about?”

“Kai’s getting out tomorrow.” Skylor pointed out, “What do you think is going to happen, there’s two fire ninja on the team?!”

Skylor took a deep breath and calmed herself before speaking, “Tonight’s probably my last night to be the fire ninja and I know that the second Kai gets back, I’m going to go back to being the noodle shop owner that none can be bothered to visit. I–I guess I just wanted to go out on a positive note.”

Nya grabbed Skylor’s hand, “Skylor, you’ll never not be important to the team.”

“We’ll see how that hold’s up once Kai gets out.” 

Nya sighed before speaking, “I remember when I used to think that I'd always be the Samurai, always second to the ninja. But it didn’t matter because the samurai was my identity, my legacy. 

“What’s your point?” Skylor asked.

You’re not defined on what colored gi you wear, you’re defined on what you leave behind. Maybe that’s not as the fire ninja, maybe it is.”

Skylor looked down and said, “I guess.” 

Nya continued what she was saying, “Look, all i’m saying is that you should be more open to change. You never know what life has in store for us. Now come on, let’s go find some criminals to beat up.”

With that, Nya took off across the roof, leaving Skylor to play catch up. Skylor quickly sprinted off to meet up with Nya who had just jumped to the roof of another building. Skylor picked up that pace to build momentum and jumped off of the building, Skylor used airjitzu to glide to the roof that Nya was on and was seconds away from landing.

BANG!

Skylor lost focus as she heard the gunshot and felt an explosion of pain in her back, pulling her into unconsciousness. Nya watched in horror as Skylor brutally hit the side of the roof and fell off of it. 

“Skylor!” Nya panicked as she dove off of the building.

Skylor’s limp body rocketed towards the ground as Nya rushed to get to it. Nya formed into an upside down pencil dive formation and caught up to Skylor as they neared the concrete ground. Nya finally caught Skylor and used airjitzu to break their fall. It didn’t work all the way as Nya heard something snap inside of Skylor’s body when they landed.  
Nya quickly turned Skylor onto her back and saw that Skylor had gone into shock. Nya pulled out her communicator and called everyone she could.

“Ninja down, I repeat, Ninja down! Skylor’s hit. She’s been shot and she's losing a lot of blood. I am gonna get Skylor back to the monastery so hurry up and get that place in order!”

Nya put away her communicator and checked on Skylor to see that she was looking pale.  
“Stay with me Skylor.” Nya pleaded. 

Nya formed her dragon and placed Skylor on it before taking off. Nya held onto Skylor as they rocketed to the monastery.

“Stay with me Skylor!” Nya yelled.

Nya leaned in and noticed that Skylor’s breaths were shallow.

“Skylor! Hang in there!” Nya demanded.

“Skylor, we’re almost there!”

“Skylor!”

“...Skylor?!”


	2. Seeing Double

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kai gets out of jail while the ninja wait to see if Skylor will recover from her injuries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all, I'm so sorry i'm late. I had a midterm that I needed to focus on.

“You know that no one else gives someone a present in prison right?” Kai asked to Dick.

Kai stroked his scruffy and uncut goatee as he eyed the people running on the track. They were probably finishing up their three mile run that he and Dick just completed.

Dick rolled his eyes and put the folded piece of paper into Kai’s hand, “Come on, you’re only my only friend in this place and you’re leaving today. I just want to give you something to remember me by.”

Kai turned away from Dick to hide his smile, “I don’t need a gift to remember you Dick. You’re my only friend in here too.”

“Just open it.” Dick pleaded.

Kai sighed and faced Dick. He unfolded the paper and found a rough black and white drawing of him and Dick. It was the two of them in a boxing match. They stood in their stances facing each other with oversized boxing gloves. It was a recreation of the many times he and Dick sparred. Pretty early on, Kai realized that Dick’s only good defense in prison was running away. In fact, if Kai was being honest, he didn’t know how Dick had survived for so long. So for the past year Kai had been training Dick to protect himself when kai was gone. Now one of the sparring sessions was commemorated in this photo.  
Kai was filled with endearment and the desire to laugh at the same time. As much as Kai appreciated the drawing, Dick drew worse than Nya when she was seven years old.

“It's really cool Dick, thanks.” Kai said.

“Thank you, I–are you smirking?” Dick asked with suspicion.

Kai covered his mouth with his hand and replied, “No.”

“You’re trying not to laugh.” Dick accused, “Do you not like it?”

“No I like it, it just looks like something a kid would draw.”

Dick softly punched Kai, “Fuck you.”

Kai blinked in surprise, “Since when do you cuss?”

“Since assholes like you can’t appreciate good effort.” Dick said as he reached for the picture, “Well if you don’t like it so much i’ll just take it back.”

Kai pulled away so that Dick couldn’t get the picture, “Don’t you fucking touch it. I’m keeping the picture.”

“Oh really?” 

“Yes,” Kai answered 

“You’re welcome.” Dick said as he hugged Kai.

Kai was caught off guard and hugged Dick back after a few seconds.

“So how long till you get out again?” Kai asked.

“Nine months.”

“Ok. Don’t be afraid to hit me up when you get out.” Kai said.

“Sure, we can spar again and I'll beat you up.” Dick retorted.

“You. Fucking. Wish.” Kai responded.

Just then the guards showed up and escorted Kai out to the entrance of the Prison. As he walked, Kai thought about how he got to serve only a year of his sentence. It was a combination of good behavior, providing information on the Wolves gang’s former operations, and the job Kai had gotten. Much to the chagrin of the other prisoners, Kai’s job had been teaching the other guards how to fight. Not to brag, but Kai considered himself a surprisingly competent teacher. But now that part of his life was over and Kai wanted nothing more than to go home and see his family.  
Kai reached the front door and the guards patted him down before they uncuffed him.

“Well you’re free man.” One of the guards said, “Don’t come back.”

“Wasn’t thinking about...asshole.” Kai muttered under his breath.

The entrance opened and Kai stepped out into the sunlight, finally a free man. Kai walked out into the parking lot and saw only Nya, no Lloyd and no Skylor. Kai didn’t think about it too hard as he sprinted towards Nya and pulled her into a hug. Kai squeezed his little sister as hard as he could, yet he felt nothing to indicate that Nya was hugging him back. Kai pulled to see that Nya’s eyes were red and watery, and he was willing to bet that she hadn’t been crying because of him. 

“Nya, what’s going on? Are you ok?” Kai asked.

Nya looked Kai right in the eyes, “Skylor’s been shot.”

Kai pulled away in shock, “What? What the fuck do you mean she’s been shot?!”

“Last night, we were running across some buildings and she just was shot out of nowhere. She–” Nya took a second to calm her breathing, “–She fell off the building and broke a rib.”

Kai couldn’t believe it. He felt like breaking something, anything. Kai barely got through the year with Zane’s death, he couldn’t handle Skylor dying either.

“Is she...is she dead?”

Nya shook her head, “No, not right now. Misako’s still trying to patch her up.”

“Well what are we waiting for?!” Kai impatiently asked, “Let’s go.”

Nya grabbed Kai’s arm, “Kai, you need to calm down before we go. Misako can’t help Skylor if you’re making a ruckus of things.”

Kai pulled away from Nya’s grasp. He couldn’t believe it, A year of prison just to get out and find out that he might lose his girlfriend, his successor, his replacement. He and Skylor were supposed to work on their relationship, supposed to be each other's best friend and confidant. Now she might be gone forever.  
Kai refused to let his tears drop as he tried to conjure his dragon. The body formed but the wings were barely there as they were mostly transparent. Kai struggled but had trouble forming his dragon, apparently a year without his powers left him a little out of shape.  
Nya placed her hand on Kai’s shoulder as he gave up on forming his dragon and put his hands on his hips to catch his breath. Nya stepped out effortlessly conjuring her water dragon. 

“Come on Kai.” Nya said as she climbed onto her dragon.

Kai scrambled onto the dragon and he and his sister took off into the sky.

Kai recklessly jumped off of Nya’s dragon when they got to the Monastery. Kai landed and spirited into the medical room where he ran straight into Jay and Cole. They both stood up and all three ninja looked at each other.

“Kai, you’re back!” Jay cheerfully cried.

“Where’s Skylor?” Kai demanded to know.

Kai saw that the surgery room was closed but had it’s lights on. He strolled to the door but was stopped by Cole, who picked him up like a child and held him above the ground. 

“Kai, you can’t see her right now.” Cole asserted, “Misako performed surgery on her right now.”

“Let me down you fuck!” Kai said. 

“Not until you calm down.” Cole insisted.

“Cole, I swear to god i’ll fucking–”

“That’s enough Kai.” A stern voice interrupted.

Cole dropped Kai to his feet as Wu walked into the room. Kai saw his master and bowed to him. Wu ignored the bow and pulled Kai into a hug.

“I’ve missed you Kai.” Wu said.

“Back at you sensei.” Kai responded.

Wu pulled away from Kai and spoke up, “Skylor is in a very critical condition and while I understand that you are concerned for her safety, your hotheaded attitude will only hurt her.”

“Yes sensei.” Kai said as Wu walked out of the room.

“Well now that that’s over,” Jay started, “can we hug you without getting punched?”

Kai allowed himself to relax and smiled as he hugged both Cole and Jay. It felt good to be back with his brothers again. He squeezed them both tight before letting them go.

“How have you guys been?” Kai asked.

“I’ve been going to therapy and Cole’s been dating dudes.” Jay nonchalantly answered.

Cole gave Jay an annoyed look before adding, “Well actually we broke up but that’s not important. We’ve been fine. What about you, how was prison? And are you planning on keeping that scrappy beard?”

“Haha, fuck you.” Kai countered.

Nya walked up to the other three ninja and asked, “Have you heard anything on Skyler’s condition yet?”

“No.” Cole responded, “Misako’s still working on her.”

“So it looks like we just sit here and wait.” Nya decided.

“Wait?” Kai asked with disgust.

“I don’t wanna wait.” Jay declared.

“I swear, you two are such babies.” Nya claimed, “Unless you have any better idea, we’re waiting.”

“I agree with Nya,” Cole spoke up, “There’s nothing we can do but wait.”

Kai grumbled to himself before crossing his arms and aggressively sitting in a chair. Cole, Nya, and Jay all grabbed seats and the four ninja sat quietly. About twenty minutes later, the medbay door opened up and Pixal walked though, looking as exhausted as a nindroid could be. She stopped and saw Kai leaning in his chair and drew a smile grin.

“It is a pleasure to see you Kai.” Pixal said.

“It’s good to see you too.” Kai replied.

“Where have you been?” Nya asked.

Pixal pulled away from Kai to face Nya, “I apologize for–”

“No Pixal, Skylor needed you and you weren’t there. Where were you.” Nya retorted.

“I could ask the same of you Nya.” Pixal countered.

“And i’ll tell you that I was having dinner with Jay.” Nya answered, “Pixal, something is going on with you and it could affect the rest of the team. I was out with my fiancé when Skylor went after Black Mask, but you? No one knows where you’ve been and that’s the part that worries me.”

Pixal’s eyes shifted across the room, “...I was at my poetry classes.”

Nya sighed in disbelief, “Look, Cole might be a little slow to catch on to your lies but you won’t fool me so easily.”

“Hey!” Cole called out, “I’m not slow.”

“No, you’re not.” Nya admitted, “Either way Pixal, you need to start being honest with us.”

Pixal turned away so the others couldn’t see her facial expressions. Nya approached Skylor and softly spoke up.

“Pixal, I just want to help you. Please let me in.”

Pixal accessed her memory records and projected a 3D hologram of part of her memories. The projection was of a box with some tapes and a small engagement ring. 

“Sometimes I go to play these tapes, they’re old memories of Zane. They help me relax.” Pixal confessed.

You could hear a pin drop in the room as everyone was reminded that, despite Kai’s return, they weren’t a fully united family. They’d never be a full family again.

“Pixal,”Nya cautiously started, “I know it hurts, but living in the past isn’t healthy.”

“Zane’s gone.” Cole added, “Nothing’s gonna change that.”

The room went quiet again before the surgery doors opened up and Misako, dressed in white scrubs, stumbled out, clearly exhausted. Kai immediately stood up and got in Misako’s face.

“Please tell me she’s ok.” Kai pleaded.

Misako shambled over and sat down in Kai’s chair before answering, “Skylor’s stable but she’s asleep right now.”

“Fuck.” Kai quietly muttered.

“Did you find anything?” Nya asked.

Misako held up a small plastic baggie, “I got the bullet fragments but it’ll take some time to get analyzed.”

Pixal stood up and took the baggie out of Misako’s hand, “I’ll get started on that.”

Pixal left the room and Misako announced that she was going to take a nap before Skylor woke up. She then also left the room, leaving the four ninja alone in the room. 

“Well what do we do know?” Jay asked.

“I’m staying at the monastery,” Kai announced, “I want to be there when Skylor wakes up.”

Nya nodded in agreement, “Misako’s obviously tired and I know a little bit about medical care so I'll watch over her.”

Jay piped up and said, “I could go to the place where Skylor was shot?“

“Good idea,” Cole said, “I’ll go with you.”

“I’ll send you the coordinates.” Nya replied.

Jay and Cole both nodded and walked out to the courtyard. They formed their dragons and took off with Jay taking the lead as he had the locations, sent by Nya. Kai sat down in the chair and Nya walked over to hug him.

“For the record, I did miss you.” Nya said, “And so did Lloyd, you should go talk to him.”

Kai rubbed his matted hair and replied, “I think I should shower first.”

“Yeah.” Nya replied as she walked into the surgery room.

Kai sat down for a few seconds before getting up and walking to his room, well, it was Skylor’s room now. Kai walked up to the desk and took out his picture of him and Dick. It was crumpled up but Kai straightened it out and then put it inside the desk. He looked into a mirror that sat next to the closet and scowled at his shoulder length hair and rough looking goatee. Kai turned away, opened up the closet door, and stared at the faded red gi he used to wear.  
Kai took a step back before slamming the closet door closed. Kai took a deep breath and sat down on the bed while staring at the closet door. He swore that he could almost feel the gi calling out to him, telling him to take back the mantle of the Fire ninja. But he couldn’t, Kai wasn’t the fire ninja. The fire ninja was supposed to be a leader, a hero, not some criminal who used to sell drugs to kids. Kai cursed to himself, grabbed his towel, and rushed out of the room.  
Kai went to the bathroom and took a quick shower. About ten minutes later, Kai stepped out and briefly contemplated cutting his hair. Kai decided against it in favor of throwing on black pants and a dark red long sleeve shirt.  
Kai then walked into the hallway and decided that he didn’t want to be in his room at the moment, so he walked to Lloyd’s room and knocked on the door. After a few seconds, the door opened up and Lloyd looked shocked to see Kai right there.

“Long time no see short stuff.” Kai said with a smirk. 

Lloyd wordlessly jumped on Kai, hugging him as tight as he could.

“Lloyd you’re gonna fucking crush me.”

Lloyd pulled away and said, “You look homeless.”

“Fuck you.” Kai joked, “So how have you been?”

“Just training Skylor.” Lloyd frowned at the mention of the Fire ninja, “Kai, how’s she doing?”

“We’re just waiting for Skylor to wake up.”

“Well she’s awake right now.” a voice called out.

Kai and Lloyd turned to Nya who repeated, “Skylor’s awake.”

Lloyd and Kai followed Nya to the Medbay and were stopped outside the surgery room. 

“She wanted to talk to you Kai but be careful, she’s still weak.” Nya stated.

Kai nodded as he entered the surgery room, closing the door behind him. He faced Skylor and felt his blood boil. Skylor was pale white from blood loss, her chest was bandaged up, and she looked like she’d been racked across the street. 

“Hey.” Skylor weakly whispered.

“Fuck.” was all that Kai could muster.

“Yeah.” Skylor replied.

Kai sat in the seat next to the bed and said, “How are you doing?”

Skylor stared at him.

“Right.” Kai responded, “...I’ll find who did this, I promise.”

“How sweet.” Skylor sarcastically croaked. 

“So what have you been up to?” Kai asked.

“I was trying to capture Black Mask.” Skylor wheezed, “He’s a drug dealer who’s using the taskmasters to build a drug empire.”

“What?” Kai asked, “Since when do the Taskmaster fuck around with drugs?” 

“Since Zhang and Briggs died last year.” Skylor answered, “Black Mask took over some of the Taskmasters and made this drug. It causes hallucinations based on any stressors that you’re experiencing, or at least that’s what pixel said.”

“Look at you,” Kai said, “just one year and you already have your own arch enemy.”

“Yeah, it’s been a year and I still can’t get him,” Skylor retorted, “pretty pathetic huh?”

“No. That's not pathetic.” Kai argued, “we all have fucked up in some way. Remember when Garmadon created his empire and sent me and the others to the first Realm?”

“I guess…” Skylor replied, she clearly wasn’t convinced.

“Hey don’t worry about it.” Kia insisted, “Once you’re in better shape, you’ll be able to fuck up Black Mask in no time.”

“Don’t you mean you’ll ‘fuck up’ Black Mask in no time?” Skylor asked. 

Kai raised an eyebrow at Skylor, “What are you talking about?”

Skylor took her gaze away from her boyfriend, “I...I just figured that with you returning I wouldn’t be the fire ninja anymore.”

“I’m not the fire ninja.” Kai said “You are.”

“Why not?” Skylor quietly asked.

Kai looked down, “I don’t think somebody with my past should be the Fire ninja.”

Skyler looked at Kai, “What about my past? If you really want to judge people on their past then I shouldn’t be the fire ninja anymore than you are.”

Kai shook his head, “You were different, you were forced by your dad. I did what I did on my own.”

Skylor was going to respond but started coughing and Kai ran out and got a cup of water. He handed her a glass and Pixal walked into the room.

“Kai, Skylor, I have successfully analyzed the bullets. You should come see the results.” Pixal said.

“You go ahead.” Skylor told Kai, “I’m tired anyways.”

Kai knew he couldn’t argue given Skylor’s situation. He gently kissed Skylor and walked out of the room. Kai and Pixal entered the map room and met Lloyd, Wu, Cole, and Jay. 

Pixal wasted no time explaining, “The bullet I pulled from Skylor had traces of an unknown energy, I have never seen anything like it before. I do not believe that it was Black Mask because this energy could only be traced to a forest.”

“Only the forest?” Lloyd asked, “has there been anything else happening in that area?”

“With the exception of a missing person case, no.” Pixal responded. 

“Oh please don’t tell me that it’s an entrance to another realm.” Jay spoke up.

“We don’t know.” Pixal said.

“I guess i’ll pack some extra clothes.” Cole claimed.

“What are you suggesting?” Wu asked.

“You guys know that every time we go to a secluded place or go away, it always leads to some huge adventure.” Cole explained, “I’m just trying to stay ahead of the game.”

“Which is why I will stay here,” Pixal responded, “as will Skylor, Wu, and Misako. We will stay here and watch over the city in the event that you disappear.”

“So what, we just walk through a forest and find this energy source?” Nya asked.

“We have set the course for the Bounty.” Pixal finished.

“You seem eager to get rid of us.” Jay joked.

“More so eager to catch Skylor’s attacker.” Pixal corrected.

“All right,” Kai said, “well then let’s go.” 

About an hour later and the ninja and Wu were piloting the Bounty to the forest. Nya, Kai, Lloyd, Cole, and Jay were wearing their ninja attire while Kai was wearing a black and red jumpsuit. The Bounty was floating above the forest, which had a faint pulsating light glowing out of it.

“You’re not going to put on your gi?” Nya asked.

“No.” Kai replied as he pulled out a balaclava. 

“We have arrived.” Pixal announced.

Kai slipped on his balaclava as he and the other ninja approached the edge of the Bounty.

“We’ll wait here for two hours.” Wu suggested with Pixal at his side, “Good luck ninja.”

With that, the ninja dropped down and used airjitzu to slow their fall, though Kai was having trouble with his powers. The other ninja landed gracefully on the ground while Kai fell and hit the ground. 

Lloyd jogged over and checked on Kai, “Are you ok?”

Kai stood up and dusted himself off, “Yeah, prison wouldn’t let me use my powers. Guess i’m a little rusty.”

“Guys?” Jay called out.

The others looked at Jay, who was pointing to a purple rift.

“I knew it.” Cole claimed.

“If that’s where Skylor’s attacker is, then i’m going after them.” Kai resolved.

“And we’ll be right behind you.” Nya added. 

Kai nodded at Nya and walked into the rift. 

“Oh we’re going in right now?” Jay asked.

Lloyd and Nya ran into the rift and Cole asked, “What’s the worst that could happen?”

“Not. Funny.” Jay said.

“Come on.” Cole said, offering his hand.

Jay took it and then the two of them walked into the rift.

Kai fell out of the rift and landed on the dirty concrete floor. The other ninja soon fell out and on top of him.

“You guys are so fucking heavy.” Kai cried out as the ninja got off of him.

The ninja got up and looked around to see that they were in a warehouse. The floor was wide open and only one light was on.

“It’s just a warehouse.” Nya observed.

“What the fuck is going on?” Kai pondered.

“Guys...I don’t like how this looks.” Cole voiced.

“You shouldn’t.” A voice bellowed.

The ninja formed a Cantabrian circle formation as they saw figures climb out of the darkened corners. Four people walked out of the darkness, all wearing gi’s. There was a man in brown, a man in white, a woman in red, and a ghost that was wearing black.

“Why are they wearing ninja gi’s?” Kai asked.

“I don’t know,” Lloyd admitted, “just keep calm.”

Finally, a man wearing a green gi dropped from the ceiling and landed in front of Lloyd. He stood up and slowly looked at each of the ninja.

“Where is she?!” The man in green demanded to know, clearly on edge.

“Who are you?” Nya asked, “And why are you wearing our ninja attire?”

“Who said that you get to ask the questions?” the Man in green retorted.

“They’re fucking imposters.” Kai claimed.

The man in green, or the Green imposter, looked at Kai, “Tough talk for someone wearing a balaclava.”

He then turned to Lloyd and spoke up, “I’m guessing that you’re the leader. I’ll make this simple, you tell me where she is and I won’t burn you all alive!”

Lloyd held up his hands and replied, “We don’t know what you’re talking about. Whoever you’re looking for, we don’t know them.”

“Bullshit!” The Green imposter responded, “You’re the only living people to come out of the rift, you don’t get to lie to my face!”

“We don’t know who you’re talking about.” Lloyd insisted, “We just found out about this rift today.”

The Green imposter stared at Lloyd, clearly not believing him, “I’ll give you one more chance before I attack, Where is Maya?!”

“Maya’s missing?” Jay haphazardly said, thinking of Nya and Kai’s mom.

The Green imposter heard what Jay said and balled up his fists. 

“So you do know her!” He accused the ninja.

Lloyd silently cursed Jay’s loud mouth but before he could elaborate, The Green imposter lost his temper and swung a right hook at Lloyd. Lloyd barely ducked behind to avoid the right hook and retaliated with his own left jab. The Green imposter blocked with his right arm, punched Lloyd in the right jaw with another left hook, and then delivered a left cross to the right side of his ribcage. The Green imposter then grabbed the collar of Lloyd’s gi and headbutted him in the nose before spinning him to his left. The Green imposter still held on to Lloyd’s gi collar to keep him in place. Then, with his right arm, he elbowed Lloyd in the shoulder, uppercutted him in his diaphragm, and punched him to the ground with a right hook. The Green imposter then grabbed Lloyd’s hood and hit him twice with hammer strikes before kicking him across the floor.  
All at once, everyone reputed into combat. Nya engaged the Red imposter, Cole was attacked by the Ghost imposter, and Jay started dueling with the Brown imposter. Kai looked at the Green imposter and charged at him. The Green imposter saw Kai running at him and did a side flip to dodge him. Kai turned around and was about to attack the Green imposter when he got kicked to the side by the White imposter. The Green imposter nodded at the White imposter before being tackled by a newly recovered Lloyd.  
The White imposter turned around and started engaging Kai. Kai got up and attacked with a right jab, a left cross, and a right hook. The White imposter leaned back to avoid the right jab, stepped to the right to dodge the left cross, and simultaneously blocked the right hook with his left arm while jabbing Kai in the throat with his right hand. Kai instinctively backed up and grabbed his throat but the White imposter closed in and kicked the inside of Kai right knee. Kai’s balance faltered and the White imposter grabbed him in a choke hold. Kai wiggled around and then elbowed the left ribcage of the White imposter to free himself before turning around and elbowing the White imposter to the ground. Kai went on the offensive and got a few good punches in before the White imposter and kicked him back. The White imposter got up and he and Kai charged at each other.  
Cole saw the Ghost approach him and went on the attack. He swung a left hook at the Ghost and went straight through him. Cole turned around in time for the Ghost to punch him in the face with a right jab. The Ghost then phased through Cole, appeared behind him, and suplexed the Earth ninja. Cole’s head hit the ground and he briefly saw stars. He recovered his vision and, upon seeing the Ghost approaching him, used his geokinesis to pull up a chunk of earth. Cole threw the chunk of earth at the Ghost who, being too surprised to phase through it, was hit by the earth and thrown to the ground. The Ghost got up and ran to Cole. Cole anticipated the Ghost’s ability to phase and threw a left hook followed by a right back kick. The Ghost phased right through the punch but wasn’t expecting the kick and was pushed back. The Ghost quickly recovered and shoulder threw Cole to the ground. Cole landed and used his powers to throw the floor beneath the Ghost into the ceiling. The Ghost was nearly flattened against the floating piece of floor and the ceiling but phased threw at the last second. The Ghost then flew down and tackled Cole onto the ground.  
Jay formed his stance and faced the Brown imposter who showed off his razor sharp clawed gauntlets before dashing to Jay. Jay dodged as the Brown imposter slashed horizontally with his right hand, reached for Jay’s face with his left, and up with his right hand. The Brown imposter then slashed both of his hands down and managed to nick Jay in the face. The Brown imposter then brought both hands up and performed a cartwheel kick, flipping Jay onto the ground. Jay got up and wiped the blood off his mouth. This brown imposter moved just as fast as Jay but seemed to prefer slashing up close and person, which was going to make it hard for Jay to fight comfortably from a long distance. Jay ran and performed a jumping 360 degree kick, to which the Brown imposter slid under. Jay landed and, before the Brown imposter could react, did a Guile kick and sent the Brown imposter flying to the ground. The Brown imposter kicked up to his feet, rubbed his jaw, and snarled like an animal. The Brown imposter went on the offense as he slashed down with both of his hands. Jay flipped backwards to evade the claws but was pushed back when the Brown imposter front kicked him in his chest. The Brown imposter then jumped onto Jay, wrapping his legs around the lightning ninja’s waist. Jay could barely support the weight of both men when the Brown imposter tried to stab him in the face with his right hand. Jay caught the Brown imposter’s right hand and then his left as it tried to stab Jay in the hip. The Brown ninja started squeezing his legs around Jay’s hips and Jay started to feel himself buckle under the pressure. Jay charged and then sent a surge of lightning into the Brown imposter, sending him flying off of Jay. The Brown imposter got up and circled Jay, clearly confused.

“The lightning...how were you able to do that?” The Brown imposter asked.

“What’s the matter, can’t handle a little lightning?” Jay challenged.

“Whatever you are, you’re no match for–” The Brown imposter readied himself, “The Brown Ninja!”

“The what?” Jay asked before the Brown ninja attacked him.

Nya approached the Red imposter, who was wielding two sais, before jumping into the air. She stabbed her trident at the Red imposter but drove it into the ground as the Red imposter rolled to the left. The Red imposter stood up and cut Nya’s left shoulder. Nya grunted and swung her trident at the Red imposter to create space between them. She then closed the distance and thrusted her trident at the Red imposter and twirled it. The Red imposter stepped away to avoid the trident and then swung her right sai at Nya’s face. Nya blocked the sai with the blunt end of her trident and then slammed it into the Red imposter’s face. The Red imposter ducked down to avoid the trident and then used her left sai to block as Nya tried to sweep her legs. The Red imposter then used her two sais to block as Nya thrusted her trident at her opponent twice. Nya missed both shots and then went on the defense as the Red imposter used her sais to attack Nya’s right shoulder, left knee, right temple, and her left hip. The Red imposter stabbed Nya's abdomen with her right, to which Nya blocked and kicked the Red imposter back. The Red imposter recovered and then threw her right at Nya’s diaphragm. Nya used a butterfly kick to dodge the sai and launched her trident at the Red imposter, knocking the left sai out of her hand. Now weaponless, both women charged at each other, eager to get the edge.  
The Ghost imposter picked Cole up and ran straight into a wall at full speed. The Ghost harmlessly phased through the wall while Cole was slammed into it. Cole fell to the floor and cough before recovering, he stood up just in time to catch Jay, who was thrown in his direction. Cole set Jay on his feet and then the two formed a back to back position as the Ghost got ready to attack Cole again and the Brown imposter flexed his claws at Jay.

“Wanna switch?” Jay suggested.

Cole quickly glanced at the Ghost and the Brown imposter before responding, “Sure.”

Jay and Cole switched position and attacked their now confused enemies. Jay ran up to the Ghost and tried to sweep his feet. The Ghost just stood there as Jay’s leg phased through him. The Ghost then swung at Jay, who did a side flip to get out of the way. 

Jay landed when he suddenly heard, “Jay, duck!”

Jay dropped to the ground as Lloyd jumped over him and knocked the Green imposter to the ground with a flying right kick. Lloyd landed on the ground as the Green imposter kicked up to his feet. The Green imposture dodged Lloyd’s left jab and then ducked under his right hook. Lloyd turned around to face his opponent as the Green imposter swung a right side kick at him. Lloyd blocked the kick with his left arm and jabbed with his right arm. The Green imposter blocked and then did a front kick. Lloyd lifted his right knee to block the kick and threw a left cross. The Green imposter used his right arm to catch and trap Lloyd’s left arm. He then punched Lloyd twice in the gut, once in the stomach, and kicked him into a wall. Lloyd took a breath and then leaned against the wall as the Green imposter rushed at him and kicked his opponent when he got close enough. Lloyd approached and swung a right hook at the Green imposter’s head. The Green imposter caught the swing with his right hand and used his left hand to hammer strike Lloyd’s ribs before punching him in the diaphragm with a right cross. Lloyd stumbled back and then sent the Green imposter flying back with a roundhouse kick. Lloyd advanced on the Green imposture and tackled him to the ground.  
Nearby, the Brown imposter ran and backflip kicked Cole in the chin. Cole collapsed to the ground and the Brown imposter landing and smirked at the earth ninja. Cole slowly got up and ignored the throbbing in his head. He got into his stance and waited for the Brown imposter to attack him. The Brown imposter, high on his victory, ran and jumped up to kick Cole. Cole caught the Brown imposter’s leg and threw him against the wall, Knocking the Brown imposter out.  
The Green imposter was thrown against the wall and noticed that the Brown imposter was down.

“We need some help over here!” The Green imposter yelled.

The White imposter looked over and surveyed the situation. He kicked Kai away and ran to check on the Brown imposter.  
The Green imposter turned to Lloyd and charged at him. He grabbed Lloyd by the throat and started to choke him out. Lloyd slammed his right arm down onto the Green imposter’s arms and broke the choke hold. He then flipped backwards and charged two energy balls before firing them back at the Green imposter. The Green imposter was clearly caught off guard and barely dodged the first energy ball but was blasted by the second energy ball. The Green imposter slid across the floor and Lloyd launched one final energy ball. Lloyd launched the energy ball but the Green stood up and held his left hand out. He...he absorbed the energy ball and charged and launched his own fiery energy ball at Lloyd.  
Lloyd was blown back against a wall and looked up in shock as the Green imposter charged up two more fiery balls of energy. The Green imposter launched the energy balls at Lloyd, who rolled out of the way and shot his own energy blast at the Green imposter. The Green imposter just absorbed Lloyd’s energy blast and shot out a stream of fiery energy at Lloyd, who blocked it with his own stream of energy.  
Kai was about to ambush the White imposter when he saw Lloyd get blasted back into the wall. Did the Green imposter just fire energy beams? How the hell was that even possible? It didn’t matter, Lloyd looked to be on the losing side and he needed Kai’s help.  
Lloyd and the Green imposter walked to each other while blasting their energy streams. When they reached each other, The Green imposter stopped blasting his energy and grabbed Lloyd by the throat. Lloyd suddenly felt fatigue overtake him, it was as if he was losing all of his energy. Lloyd started to feel light headed when Kai ran up and tackled the Green imposter.  
All three ninja fell to the ground and the Green imposter kicked Kai off of him. The Green imposter stood up and fired an energy blast at Lloyd. Lloyd jumped out of the way and Kai swung at the Green imposter. The Green imposter blocked Kai and then kicked him in the balls. Lloyd showed up and dodge the uppercut that Green imposter threw at him and Lloyd grabbed the Green imposter’s arm. Lloyd swung the Green imposter around and hurled him at Kai who clotheslined the Green imposter to the ground. The Green imposter grabbed his broken nose and then blasted Lloyd across the warehouse. The Green imposter stood up and faced Kai. The Green imposter punched Kai in the gut and then grabbed him by the throat and repeatedly hit him in the face.  
The Green imposter then grabbed Kai’s balaclava and pulled it off of Kai’s face. The Green imposter looked at Kai’s face and then froze with surprise.

“Impossible…” The Green imposter muttered before being blasted back by Lloyd.

Kai and Lloyd stood side by side as the Green imposter slowly got up, but instead of fighting, he turned and demanded, “Stand down!”

The rest of the imposters stopped fighting but still cautiously kept watch of the ninja. Lloyd got up and walked over to Kai. The White imposter helped the Brown imposter up and everyone turned to the Green imposter.

The Green imposter turned to Kai and asked, “Who, or what, are you?”

Kai turned to Lloyd who hesitantly nodded, silently telling him to answer the question. 

“Kai Smith, who the hell are you?”

The Green imposter shook his head, “This doesn’t make any sense.”

The other imposters saw Kai and were all clearly shocked. The Ghost rubbed his eyes as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

Kai didn’t like how everyone was staring and said, “Hey dipshit, I asked you a question.”

The Green imposter looked to his other teammates before collecting himself and saying, “we’re the ninja.”

Cole, Jay, and Nya looked shocked at that claim.

“Bullshit.” Kai called out.

Lloyd stepped in front of Kai, “What he meant to ask was how’s that possible? We’re the ninja.”

“You’re the ones who came from the rift,” The Red imposter pointed out, “You’re in our city. We’ve never heard of you and now you show up out of nowhere. Why are you here?”

Lloyd took a deep breath. He had no idea who these people were but he felt that things would go a lot better if they were cooperating, and that meant honesty.

“One of us got shot.” Lloyd started, “We found the bullet and–”

“And tracked the energy back to the rift.” The White imposter finished, “We’ve been tracking unknown energy connected to recent shootings over the last year and traced them back here, to the rift. Surely, that can’t be a coincidence.” 

“So someone is shooting people with bullets with special energy,” Nya said, “It can’t be a coincidence that these bullets led us to meet each other.” 

“Perhaps we could work together?” The White imposter suggested.

Lloyd couldn’t help but see the positive in the suggestion. While he didn’t exactly trust them, two groups would probably have a better chance at solving this mystery.

The Green imposture shook his head, “We don’t even know these people.”

Lloyd spoke before he could stop himself, “What if we revealed our identities?”

Everyone looked at him like he was crazy and the Green imposter responded, “Is that supposed to make me trust you?”

“No,” Lloyd responded, “but we need to find out who shot our friend, and it sounds like you guys have a shooter on the loose too. I think that we could work together to find this shooter.”

The Green imposter didn’t respond but Lloyd could see him debating the idea. Lloyd decided to take the initiative and slowly unmasked himself.

“Are you sure about this?” Kai whispered to Lloyd.

Lloyd ignored Kai and took off his mask and said, “I’m Lloyd Garmadon, and i’m the Green ninja.”

The Green imposter looked taken aback, “Garmadon? Since when does Garmadon have a kid?”

“He doesn’t.” the Ghost imposter replied.

“This is a little too complicated for me.” The Brown imposter added.

“Maybe they came from an alternate universe?” The White imposter suggested.

“We can’t know that for sure.” The Red imposter retorted.

“Look, none of this matters.” Kai said, “We just want to find our shooter. We do that, we’ll fuck off and leave you alone.”

“Not until we know who you are.” The Green imposter insisted. 

Lloyd looked at Cole, Jay, and Nya and nodded. The three of them hesitantly unmasked themselves, much to the surprise of the imposters.

“The name’s Cole, master of Earth.”

“I’m Jay, Lightning ninja.”

“I’m Nya and i’m the Water ninja”

The Green imposter took a second to collect himself before saying, “You guys really want to find this shooter.”

“The second we find him, we’ll leave.” Lloyd promised.

The Green imposter nodded his head in agreement, “I guess I was a little aggressive earlier. Sorry for that but–” The Green imposter looked at the Red imposter who nodded at him, “–someone was kidnapped, and I just want them back.”

“We could help you.” Lloyd suggested.

“Look it’s great that everyone’s best friends but trust is a two way street.” Kai claimed, “we unmasked ourselves, now it’s time you do the same.” 

“Fair enough.” The Green imposter said as he nodded at the other imposters.

The Ghost imposter took off his mask, “Cole Blacksmith-Hence, the Earth Ninja.”

The Red imposter also unmasked herself and said, “I’m Skylor, the fire ninja. Technically i'm the master of amber.”

The Brown imposter dramatically took his mask off and declared, “I am the formidable Brown ninja, but you can call me Dareth.”

Now it was time for Lloyd and his ninja to look shocked as they gazed upon their doppelgangers. 

Cole leaned into Nya, “I never thought i’d say that I almost got my butt kicked by Draeth.”

“None of this makes sense.” Nya responded. 

The White imposter looked at the Green imposter and took off his mask. He had blonde hair, brown eyes, and a perfectly symmetrical face.

“Zane?” Lloyd asked. 

The White imposter looked at Lloyd and responded, “Yes, Zane Julien.”

Lloyd tried his best to put on a neutral face, which wasn’t easy considering that his formerly dead brother was now staring at him. Zane was in his human-like form, the one he had before dying to the Overlord. It was like a slap in the face as Lloyd was instantly hit with memories of battling the Serpentine and Overlord.  
The ninja starred that Zane despite the fact he was obviously creeped out by it. Jay slowly approached the White ninja and hugged him. Zane looked at the other ninja and was obviously uncomfortable as he didn’t reciprocate the hug. After a moment, Nya walked over and gently pulled Jay off of him, keeping her eyes on Zane the whole time. The Green imposter cleared his throat, drawing the attention off of Zane. 

“Well Lloyd Garmadon, I think it’s safe to say that we come from very different places.”

The Green imposter sighed before unmasking himself. He had brown wild hair, scratches along his chin. Kai and Lloyd looked at each other in shock. 

“What the fuck…” Kai mumbled to himself as the unmasked Green imposter spoke up. 

“But where I come from, my name is Kai Smith, and I am the Green ninja.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, so I just wanted to explain my schedule. I'm still gonna try to update on Sundays or Mondays on PDT time. However, with school back in session and my new job, things might get hectic sometimes. In addition, I will have to take a week off sometimes, like finals week. I apologize for these absences but school and work simply just take priority. i'm not giving up on this story and I still plan to continue it, it's just that with Unraveling Fate, that was written during summer with next to no other commitments. Legacy of the Fire ninja doesn't have that luxury. I will figure out how to balance this story with the rest of my life, just be aware that the next few weeks might be a little crazy.
> 
> Thank you for your understanding.


	3. Welcome to the Quasiverse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ninja start to explore a new version of Ninjago, one with many similarities and differences.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, be sure to read the notes at the end please, (sorry for the shorter chapter btw).

Wu covered Pixal as she kicked the door in to find that the interior of the cabin looked rundown and dirty. Shortly after the ninja had entered the rift, Pixal and Wu had ventured out to explore a cabin that had been picked up by the Bounty’s scanners. So here they were, examining this abandoned cabin. Wu picked up an empty dog bowl and looked over to some empty rifle cartridges. There were clearly people who lived here, what happened to them?

“What was that Kai?” Pixal asked as she listened into her communicator, “Ok, I understand.”

“Have they returned so early?” Wu asked.

“Just Kai.” Pixar answered, “He is at the entrance of the rift and is requesting your presence.”

“Well let’s not keep him waiting.” Wu said as he and Pixal walked out of the cabin.

They walked through the forest, heading for the signature heat source of the rift. After a few minutes, they arrived into a clearing and saw Kai standing next to the rift. His balaclava was missing and he had a black eye. Pixal gasped and went to check Kai’s face while Wu asked him some questions.

“What happened Kai?”

“We got ambushed,” Kai explained, “Sensei, I need you to come with me.”

“What seems to be the issue?” Wu questioned, “What did you find in the rift?”

Kai hesitated before answering, “People who look like us, they were ninja and elemental masters. But they were different.” 

Wu stared at Kai as he continued, “I, or their version of me, is the Green ninja. And like he’s wearing a green gi, he has Lloyd’s powers. They’re a little fiery but it’s the same as Lloyd.”

Wu blinked, clearly puzzled, “That should not be possible.”

“It shouldn’t be, all this information is certainly enough to make me ponder the nature of this rift.” Pixal added.

“That’s not all.” Kai started, “Their team is different. There’s no Jay or Lloyd, their version of Dareth is on the team and is an actual ninja, their Cole is a ghost, they didn’t have a Nya with them and...Zane. Their Zane is alive.”

Wu took a second before responding, “I’ve never heard anything like this.”

“We need you Sensei.” Kai confessed.

Wu nodded his head, “Very well. Pixal, can you, Skylor, and Misako hold down the fort while we’re gone? You can request Ronin’s help.”

Pixal stopped examining Kai’s wounds, “Yes but I must warn you, I wasn’t able to signal the ninja when they went through the portal.”

“We’ll be fine Pixal.” Wu said, “Though something tells me that we’ll be gone for a while.”

“Well in that case, good luck.” Pixel replied as Wu and Kai walked into the rift. 

Kai jumped into the rift and, once again, fell down on the warehouse upon exiting the rift. He looked up and saw his ninja and the doppelgängers hesitantly making small talk. Lloyd saw him fall out of the rift and walked over to pull him out. 

“Is Wu on his way?” Lloyd asked. 

“Yeah.” Kai responded. 

After the ninja had gotten over this alternate version of Kai being the Green ninja, they had decided that Wu could provide some much needed wisdom in regards to this new situation. The mention of Wu had also seemed to invoke the interests of the doppelgänger ninja.   
Wu then appeared out of the rift and gracefully landed on the ground. Wu stroked his beard with widened eyes as he examined both sets of ninja. 

Green ninja Kai took a deep breath and said, “You look just like him.”

“Your Wu?” Wu asked. 

“Yes Sen–“ Green ninja Kai stopped himself, “yes, you do.”

“Please forgive us,” Zane interjected with a hint of sadness, “Our Wu passed away quite some time ago. Seeing you isn’t something we planned on doing today.”

“Hmmp.” Wu said, still clearly trying to process everything.

Alternate Dareth stared smugly at Wu and said, “Not gonna lie, Sensei, it’s pretty groovy to see you up and kicking again. If it’s alright with you, i’d like to do some sparring, though I must warn you–” Dareth flexed his gauntlet claws, “–I am pretty feisty.”

“Not the time Dareth.” Green ninja, or Alternate, Kai warned.

“Kai’s right,” Alternate Skylor spoke up, “We have bigger things to worry about. We should head back to the base.”

“Wait, are we really just going to trust them like that?” Alternate Cole asked.

“If we wanted to do anything to you, we already would’ve.” Cole pointed out, “You’re the ones who attacked us.”

“It was a misunderstanding.” Lloyd countered, “We all fought ok? Let’s be done with it.”

“Lloyd’s right.” Alternate Kai added, “Com’on, i’ll call a bus for us.”

“You do know that we can fly dragons right?” Kai asked, “Or can you not do that?”

“Hmm, he sounds like you when we were younger.” Alternate Skylor noted.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to fly our dragons and let the rest of Ninjago know that there are two sets of ninja.” Alternate Kai defended.

Kai crossed his arms, “Fine.”

At that, Alternate Kai called an extra large uber and turned to everyone, “It’ll take about ten minutes.”

The Alternate ninja, the regular ninja, and Wu all walked outside and waited on the corner. It was the most awkward and quiet ten minutes ever. Jay decided to break the silence.

“So...what happened to your Wu?”

All the alternative ninja glared at Jay as he sunk back into his seat. Finally, Alternate Kai spoke up.

“Did you guys ever fight a being of pure evil called the Overlord?”

“Yeah,” Cole answered, “twice.”

“Us too.” Alternate Kai said, “We beat him once but then he came back as this techno virus. He had us all trapped but Wu–” Alternate Kai took a deep breath, “–our Wu sacrificed himself to kill the Overlord.”

“I apologize if my presence is bothering you,” Wu said, “I didn’t know.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Alternate Kai said, “It's just weird seeing you here.”

Wu nodded and then spoke up, “Do you mind me asking how you became the Green ninja and what ninja Dareth is?”

“I thought you’d never ask.” Alternative Dareth declared before Alternative Kai could speak up, “I am the glorious Brown ninja, master of animal life.”

“Animal life?” Nya said before turning to Wu, “Is that an element?”

Before Wu could answer, Dareth spoke up, “Of course it is! I can talk to any animal I want. I can command the sharks in the oceans and the dragons in the sky.”

Dareth then turned to Nya and put on an attempt at a sultry voice, “I can show my powers...if you’d like.”

“Dareth, I’ll break your nose if you don’t stop.” Alternate Skylor said.

Dareth backed down and muttered, “I was just joking.“

“Anyways,” Alternate Kai interrupted, “I was originally the Green ninja. My dad was the Fire ninja and passed his element onto me. One night, while I was a kid, I had a dream with a powerful and wise old man.”

“The First Spinjitzu Master.” Wu guessed.

Alternate Kai nodded his head, “He told me that he had ‘chosen me’ and then I woke up. Years later when Wu recruited me and showed off the golden weapons, They glowed and I knew who I was.”

Kai frowned and then asked, “So, you have the fire element AND the green element?”

Alternate Kai opened his hand and created a fiery energy ball, “Yeah.”

Alternate Kai extinguished his energy and pulled out his phone to text someone.

Cole looked at Ghost Cole and noticed that he was fidgeting around with a wedding ring. Though it was attached to a chain and clearly came out of his pocket. Cole thought of asking about his husband but decided not to and asked another question.

“How long have you been a ghost?”

“About eleven years now.” Ghost Cole answered, “There was this evil ghost named Morro who–”

“He wasn’t evil,” Wu interrupted, “just misguided.”

“Oh, so you know about Morro?” Ghost Cole asked.

“Yeah, I used to be a ghost.” Cole answered, “I became human again during Day of the Departed.”

“Oh.” Ghost Cole responded, “Ok.”

Finally, the bus pulled up and everyone got on it. Once everyone took a seat, the ninja started staring out of the windows. This version of Ninjago looked a lot more advanced than theirs. All the cars and vehicles were electric. The billboards were electronic, the buildings were a little more modern but still had that city feeling. There appeared to be a large electrical grid near the center of the city.

“Everything’s so electronic.” Jay commented.

“Yeah, After Nadahkan attacked Ninjago city, Our Cyrus Borg rebuilt everything. All our vehicles, weapons, communications, everything is electric.” Alternate Skylor replied.

Jay looked out the window with fascination, his mechanic brain was buzzing with joy as he thought of all the electrical mechanisms that must go into keeping the city functioning. Jay was thinking of names to call this place, this world. Ninjago II? The Mirrorverse? None of them felt right to Jay. And what would Jay call these doppelgangers?  
He was looking at the streets and noticed a giant yellow container on the sidewalk. It had had a display screen that showed some type of numbers. The top of the container had a vent that seemed to be sucking the air into it. Then, on the side of the container, was another vent that was letting out air.

“What’s that?” Jay asked as he pointed to the yellow container.

“An E.M.R.C.,” Alternate Zane answered, “or ElectroMagnetic Radiation Container. Our version of Ninjago city relies heavily on electricity to function. However, the surplus of electronic material had led to an unhealthy amount of electromagnetic radiation in the air. The E.M.R.C.s suck in the radiation and store them until collection, which should be in about two weeks since They’re almost at full capacity.”

Jay nodded, “How many of those things do you have?”

“I don’t know the exact count,” Zane answered, “but they’re all over the city.”

“Yeah, but they completely block the sidewalks.” Ghost Cole said before sarcastically replying, “They’re a blast.” 

“Where’s your Nya?” Kai hesitantly asked.

“She’s back at the Monastery.” Ghost Cole responded, “She had a doctor’s appointment today.”

Lloyd noted the transparency that these Alternative ninja had. While he appreciated it, Lloyd couldn’t help but wonder when they were so eager to work with the ninja. Just an hour ago, both groups of ninja were fighting and now, it was as if everyone was friends. What was so important to the alternate ninja that they were putting this much trust into a group of people they’d just met?

Five minutes later, the bus pulled up to the stairs of the Alternate ninja’s monastery. 

“Here we are.” Alternate Kai said as he got up, “Let’s go inside and have a little meeting to sort this out.”

The ninja got off the bus and headed to the Monastery. The sun was setting and the weather started growing colder. Cole took notice of the murals that were painted. Some of them were similar, like the defeat of the Hands of time, and some were different, like the painting of Djinjago falling out of the sky and crushing parts of Ninjago.

“Is this what you meant earlier?” Cole asked Alternate Skylor.

Alternate Skylor looked at the mural and her eyes quickly turned melancholy, “Yeah, that was a sad day for everyone.”

Cole decided not to push any further and looked towards a shrine of Wu, their Wu. There were bright colors all around the painting and Wu himself was painted in a meditation position. Cole wondered how he and his ninja would have fared had their Wu died so early on. No wonder Alternate Kai was so much more mature compared to his Kai, he had to grow up to lead the team.   
Cole refocused and followed the other ninja into the lounge room of the monastery. Alternate Kai and Zane both   
Some foldable chairs out of a closet and set them up so everyone could have a seat. Cole sat down next to Jay and waited for everyone else to find a seat. All the Alternate ninja sat next to each other while the regular ninja grouped together. Ghost Cole had left a seat next to him open and the Alternate ninja had two other seats cleared.

“What is the meaning of this?” An old man said as he walked into the room.

The Man had grey hair and a frown on his face, it was a face that Lloyd knew all too well.

“Father?” Lloyd cautiously asked. 

The man, Garmadon, took note of Lloyd, and then focused on Alternate Kai, “Where did they come from? And why is the green one calling me his ‘father’?”

“These ninja are the ones who came through the rift, master.” Alternate Kai started, “We don’t know where they’re from but they’re also looking for someone that uses bullets with unique energy.”

“Hmmp.” Garmadon said before scanning the rest of the ninja, “Wu?”

Gramadon’s frown formed into a look of surprise as Wu stood up and replied, “Brother, it’s been a while.”

Gramadon frowned again and balled up his fists, “What trickery is this?”

“There is no trickery, brother,” Wu insisted, “just the truth. In another world, I am your brother and Lloyd–” Wu gestured to Lloyd, “–is your son.”

“Lloyd…” Garmadon said as he took a genuine look at Lloyd, “She always wanted to name him Lloyd.”

Garmadon cautiously stepped toward Lloyd and inspected his features, “You have her nose, small and pointed. But this doesn’t make any sense.”

“We don’t fully understand what’s happening either master.” Zane responded, “But I feel that both groups could be of use to each other.”

Garmadon considered what Zane had said and then turned to Lloyd, “Have a seat.” 

Alternate Skylor looked at Alternate Kai as he sat down and said, “Sweetie, your nose is still broken.”

“Thanks.” Alternate Kai said.

Alternate Kai then concentrated on his left hand until it glowed a light warm green. Alternate Kai then slowly pushed his glowing left hand onto his nose, despite the pain it caused. When Alternate Kai removed his hand, however, the nose was completely healed.

“How did you do that?” Lloyd asked in a bewildered tone.

Alternate Kai looked at Lloyd, confused, “Don’t you know how to heal?”

“Zane?” an old cracked voice called out,”Zane, what’s going on?”

Kai took one look to his left and nonchalantly said, “Guys, Dr. Julien’s alive.”

The rest of the ninja turned to see Julien standing in the doorway. 

Zane got up to help his old father but was shot down by Julien who said, “I’m old Zane, but i’m not incapable of taking care of myself.”

Julien made his way to his seat and sat down. He took a clear look at the other ninja and casually said, “Who’s our new friends?”

“Uh, father,” Zane asked, “You do realize that they’re us right?”

Julien adjusted his glasses and then waved his hand, dismissing the question, “Yes, it certainly is fascinating. They must’ve come from some alternate dimension. Their Nya isn’t pregnant, their Jay isn’t in jail, it’s very exciting to imagine what could’ve gone on in their lives to draw this as an outcome.” 

“Pregnant?” Nya questioned.

“Jail?” Jay also questioned.

“This could confirm the Multiple Worlds theory! It’s all very fascinating indeed.” Julien concluded.

“I agree with the old man.” Alternate Dareth said, “Getting to hang with two Nyas at the same time will be very groovy.”

Both Kai and Alternate Kai gave Dareth the death stare until he held his hands up, saying, “Kidding! I’m just kidding.”

Alternate Kai huffed and then turned to the rest of the group, “Looks like we’re just waiting for our Nya.”

As if on cue, a familiar yet exhausted voice called out, “I’m here. What were your texts about Kai?”

“And there’s Nya, our Nya.” Alternate Kai said.

Ghost Cole jumped up and walked to where the voice was. He was out of view but both Cole and Jay could hear what was being said, despite the rest of the ninja breaking out into small talk. 

“Hey handsome.” Alternate Nya said.

“What did the doctor say?” Ghost Cole asked.

“Everything’s fine...he’s fine.” Alternate Nya responded.

“He?” Ghost Cole quietly asked, sounding elated.

“He.” Alternate Nya confirmed.

“Oh god, that’s...that’s amazing. I should’ve been there.”

“Hey, the others needed you.” Alternate Nya comforted Ghost Cole, “Don’t worry about it.”

It just now dawn on Cole that Ghost Cole never said anything about being gay, and if he was talking about Nya that way…

“Nya, there’s something you need to know.” Ghost Cole said to Alternate Nya.

“What is it?” Alternate Nya asked, “Did something happen?”

“We went to the rift.” Ghost Cole started, “There were these other ninja, they looked just like us. They had their own Kai, Nya, and me. Well, a human version of me. Their Wu’s alive and going strong. They even had this blonde guy who’s calling himself Garmadon’s kid, and he’s their green ninja.”

“What? How is that even possible?” Alternate Nya asked.

“And that’s not all.” Ghost Cole added, “Jay’s there, Nya. He’s just like he was before Nadakhan, before me.”

Cole and Jay looked at each other with confusion before continuing their eavesdropping.

“What?” Alternate Nya replied, still trying to process everything.

“And they’re all here.”

“What?!” Alternate Nya exclaimed.

“They’re in the lounge with our ninja, waiting to start a little meeting.”

“Cole, they’re probably listening to everything we’re saying.”Alternate Nya said as she walked into the lounge room.

The ninja stopped what they were doing and looked at Alternate Nya. She was wearing a baggy black jumpsuit. Alternate Nya’s sweater was big, not not big enough to hide her belly bump. She was laser focused on Jay, studying his features as if she didn’t know the next time she’d get to see them.

“Nya,” Kai said to Alternate Nya, “you’re pregnant?”

“Twenty-one weeks.” Alternate Nya replied without looking away from Jay, clearly she didn’t care about Kai’s question.

Ghost Cole came up and gently pulled Alternate Nya to her seat. It was then that Jay put two and two together and formed a disgusted look on his face.

“Wait, you two are together?!” Jay exclaimed.

Ghost Cole blinked before responding, “Yeah, three years married.”

Alternate Nya then turned to Cole, “Aren’t you and your Nya married?”

“No.” Nya answered, “Jay and I are engaged.”

“Oh.” Alternate Nya quietly said.

“How does that even work?” Jay asked, “You’re a ghost so how–”

“Jay,” Cole interrupted, “A ghost still has all of their parts working.”

Jay’s eyes widened, “Wait what? Since when? Do ghosts have kids? How does that even work?”

“It’s best if you don’t think about it.” Cole offered.

Alternate Kai then cleared his throat, getting everyone’s attention, “Now that we’re all here, I think it’s time we cleared a few things up. Zane, you wanna tell them what we know?”

Zane nodded and spoke up, “We discovered this rift a year ago when the warehouse workers reported it to us. Since then, we’ve been periodically monitoring the rift despite the lack of activity. You ninja are the first alive people we’ve interacted with that came from the rift.”

“Alive?” Lloyd asked.

“Alive.” Alternate Kai confirmed, “When we found the rift, we also found a charred dead guy. Poor bastard was burnt alive.”

“You swore.” Alternate Skylor noted as she pulled out a jar filled with coins.

Alternate Kai grumbled to himself as he put a quarter in it while Zane continued speaking, “We had no idea what was on the other side of the rift until you appeared to us today. Now my running theory is that this is some sort of quasi universe with a few major differences.”

“Quasi?” Jay asked.

“It means ‘almost’,” Zane answered, “As in, if I am to be correct, your world seems to be an almost exact copy of ours.”

Jay thought for a second and got really excited, “That’s it!”

Nya looked at Jay, “What’s ‘it’?” 

Jay gleefully looked at everyone, “That’s what we should call this place, the Quasiverse!”

Everyone looked at Jay as if he’d lost his mind.

“The ‘Quasiverse’?” Alternate Garmadon asked.

“I must admit that it does have a ring to it..” Zane added.

“Yeah,” Jay said, “and to keep track of which ninja someone is talking about is talking, we’ll just put a ‘two’ in front of all of your names.” Jay directed to the alternate ninja.

“Why us?” Alternate Nya asked.

“Because…” Jay thought about a reason for his labeling, “because we got to your world before you got to ours. That makes you the second version. We don’t need to call you Zane-2 though.” 

The room was quiet until a voice started speaking.

“Alright, fine.” Alternate Kai, or Kai-2, said, “We’re the second version and our Ninjago is called the Quasiverse. Can we start focusing on the important stuff now?”

“Yeah.” Ghost Cole, or Cole-2, said, “We have to figure out if someone's trying to mess with us.”

“Ok.” Lloyd started, “let’s start with what we know. Our Skylor was shot and the bullet had the unique energy that led us here.”

“And we had people who were gunned down by bullets with unique energy.” Kai-2 replied.

“Why don’t we run an analysis on the bullets.” Julien-2 suggested, “If the bullets and their energies match, then we’re all probably being duped by the same ol’ geezer.” 

“Who’s Maya?” Nya suddenly asked, “When you ambushed us, you asked where Maya was. Was she kidnapped?”

Skylor-2 looked at Kai-2 before answering, “Kai, er, Kai-2 and I are married. And Maya’s our daughter.”

Lloyd’s heart dropped as he realized why Kai-2 had been so aggressive during their first encounter. Kai-2 wasn’t being mean, he was desperate.

“They took her while we were dealing with the shootings.” Kai-2 grimace, “She’s not even a year old!”

Zane put his hand on Kai-2’s shoulder and spoke up, “We’ve connected Maya’s kidnapping to the shooting and know that they were orchestrated by the same person. That is all we are aware of at the moment.”

“Well fuck,” Kai muttered, “It’s a hell of a lot more than we have.”

Everyone was quiet as they realized two things. One was that they knew next to nothing about what was happening and two was that whoever was capable enough to discover both versions of Ninjago and manipulate the ninja into finding each other clearly was a capable threat.

“I don’t mean to change the subject.” Zane started, “But do you mind me asking where your Zane is? I’ve noticed that he wasn’t here.”

Zane didn’t bring up the fact that they all stared at him like he was a ghost, or the fact that these ninja actively tried not to talk about their Zane. Zane figured that their Zane was long gone, but he wanted to be sure.

“Zane is in a better place.” Wu answered. 

The quasiverse ninja looked down and aired their grievances while Dareth-2 answered, “well that’s sad.”

Cole didn’t know what it was but he looked at Zane and got the feeling that there was another question that Zane wanted to ask.

“What’s on your mind?” Cole asked Zane.

Zane hesitated before asking, “Did...did your Zane ever find his mother?”

“What?” Cole asked, clearly flabbergasted.

The ninja all looked at each other, silently debating on what to say until Lloyd spoke up.

“Uh, no. Our Zane never found his mother.”

“Oh.” Zane said as he sat back in his seat, clearly disappointed.

Cole didn’t understand, why would Zane think that he had a mom? Was this Zane human? Cole’s gaze veered towards Julien and it was then that he received his answer. Julien was trying to look calm, and failing at it miserably. His jaws were clenched tightly, he was shrinking into his chair, and avoiding Zane’s unsuspecting gaze. There only one reason Cole could think of but that couldn’t be possible. Zane was always the smartest person that Cole knew, surely by now he would’ve figured out he wasn’t human.   
It was only when Wu caught Julien’s reaction and looked at Cole that he accepted the truth. This Zane didn’t know that he was an android. Julien caught Cole’s gaze and slowly shook his head, silently begging Cole not to say anything. Cole didn’t feel right with that, Zane died without Cole ever being fully honest with him. Now Cole had another chance and he was almost immediately being asked to lie to Zane again. Before Cole could further descend down this rabbit hole, Kai-2 spoke up.

“Alright, it’s getting late. Lloyd, you and your ninja are welcome here so long as you help us solve this mystery.”

Lloyd shook his head in agreement, “We accept your offer and appreciate your openness.”

Garmadon stood up and started walking to his room, “Get some rest, tomorrow we start training and investigating this phantom menace.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so i've been thinking about it and I have come to the conclusion that during school and work, I won't be able to keep up with the 7,000 - 10,000 chapter per week schedule. I've tried that the last 2 chapters and it's not working. So here are the 2 solutions I can think of. One is that I can write my regular sized chapters but they will probably take longer than a week to get out. Two is that I break up the 17 chapters into smaller chapters and post those a lot quicker. Once the story is completed, i'll rearrange the story into the 17 chapters it was supposed to be. Which method would you all prefer? Thank you for your responses.


	4. The replicated man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both groups of Ninja continue to get to know each other while searching for their mysterious shooter. Also, Cole struggles with whether or not he should let Zane know of his robotic origins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, y'all, how's everything going? Anyone get the reference of the title? Enjoy.

“You’re telegraphing.” Kai-2 called out as he dodged Lloyd’s kick and punched him back.

After the meeting last night, everyone woke up and tried to look for any anomalies that might lead to this mysterious threat. About an hour later, and nothing to show for it, everyone decided that in the event that this investigation went on longer than expected, it would probably be best if both groups of ninja got to know each other. So now Lloyd and Kai-2 were sparring with Jay and Dareth-2 spectating.

“Kai-2’s gonna smoke Lloyd.” Dareth-2 claimed, “He’s got fire and energy on his side. Lloyd’s toast.”

“Ha, you wish. Lloyd’s part Oni which means he is stronger and faster.” Jay countered.

Kai-2 felt Lloyd not trying, this wasn’t the same resolve he felt when facing Lloyd in the warehouse. Kai-2 wondered what was on his mind?  
Kai-2 recovered and swung a left hook at Lloyd before elbowing him in the chest. Kai-2 then threw a right jab that Lloyd caught and then caught Lloyd’s on the right cross, putting them in a stalemate. 

Realizing their situation, Kai-2 looked at Lloyd and said, “Wanna team up and fight Dareth-2 and Jay?”

Lloyd pulled away, “Not right now.”

Lloyd walked away and Kai-2 strolled over to Jay, “What’s up with Lloyd?”

Jay shrugged his shoulders, “Beats me. Why don’t you ask him?”

Kai-2 looked at Lloyd who was stretching his arms but facing away from the others. Kai-2 sat down next to Lloyd and started doing butterfly stretches.

“So what’s bothering you?” Kai-2 asked Lloyd.

“Nothing.” Lloyd responded.

“C’mon man, don’t give me that.” Kai-2 argued, “You were kicking my ass, er I mean butt, at the warehouse. I can tell that something was on your mind.”

Lloyd looked at Kai-2, “Are you not allowed to swear or something?”

“You noticed that huh?” Kai-2 asked, “Yeah, my Skylor and I decided that Maya shouldn’t be hearing swear words growing up.”

At the mention of his daughter, Kai-2 formed a scared and sad look on his face.

“What’s she like?” Lloyd asked.

Kai-2 put on a melancholy smile, “Loud and she cries a lot. But when she smiles at you, it’s like nothing else mattered.” Kai-2 looked down at his shoes, “I used to think that my greatest legacy would be as the Green ninja, and maybe to everyone else it might be. For me though, Maya will always be my greatest legacy.   
Now she’s gone and i’m losing my mind. She and Skylor-2, they’re my family Lloyd. If something happened to either of them, I’d be a very different man.”

“We’ll get her back.” Lloyd reassuringly said.

“Hmmp,” Kai-2 said, clearly not convinced, “I hope so. Well, I shared my ‘woes’ as Zane would call them. It’s your turn to open up.”

Lloyd sighed, “What’s the worst thing that ever happened to your Zane?”

Kai-2 blacked before responding, “Probably when he was beat up by Krux and Acronix.”

“Mine was sent to a Neverrealm, nearly died defeating the Overlord, and then had a bomb shoved inside of him and exploded.” Lloyd said, “And over here, he’s alive, his dad’s alive, my father’s safe… In my world, My father is an evil heartless man, corrupted by the power of destruction. I can’t even pass my stupid sensei test. All of your people are alive and safe, I can’t say the same, and i’m starting to wonder if i’m the problem.”

“Not everyone is fine over here.” Kai-2 countered, “Wu’s dead, my Jay’s in jail, our Ninjago was destroyed to the point of having to be entirely rebuilt. I’m not perfect and neither is anyone else.”

“At least your Zane is still alive.” Lloyd grumbled.

“And your Wu is still alive.” Kai-2 retorted.

Both Green ninja sat there quietly until Lloyd spoke up

“Do you ever feel overwhelmed, like you can’t keep up?”

Kai-2 shrugged his shoulders, “Sometimes, but that’s why we have a team.”

“Yeah, but they look up to us to lead them.” Lloyd noted, “At the end of the day, it all comes down to us.”

“It does get stressful sometimes,” Kai-2 admitted, “but that’s just how the world works.”

“I guess, I just wish that I didn’t feel so… limited sometimes.”

“Limitless? Lloyd, you’re the green ninja,” Kai-2 said, “You have no limits.”

Kai-2 turned to face Lloyd and spoke up, “You are the master of energy, and energy is all around us. It’s in the grass we play in, it’s in the plants we eat, it’s in the electricity that runs our city, it’s in the pets we have, and it’s everyone and it connects us all.  
About three years ago, we were attacked by these things called the Oni. They were masters of darkness, and everything they touched froze up or powered down. They sucked all of the energy out of everything.   
That’s because energy isn’t just energy, Lloyd. It’s the light, it’s life. Nothing can survive without energy, whether it’s in the fire that warms us or the food that feeds us. All of that energy is at your beck and call.  
You think that your power is limited, well I say it’s limitless. You’re not just the master of energy, Lloyd, you're the master of life.” 

Lloyd starred at Kai-2, “You may look like Kai, but you’re nothing like him.”

Kai-2 chuckled, “What? Is he an assho– I mean a jerk?”

“No, well sometimes, but I was talking about your wisdom.” Lloyd clarified.

“Oh, yeah. Well when my Wu died, someone had to be the wise one.” 

“Wouldn’t that be Zane?” Lloyd joked.

“You’d think right? Zane’s easily the smartest of us. I swear, he’s like a damn calculator.” Kai-2 winced at his words, “Remind me to put a quarter in the jar later. Anyway, he’s definitely smarter than me. But if you’re as smart as I think you are, then you’d know that there’s a difference between being smart and being wise.” 

“True.” Lloyd agreed.

“You know, I kinda like this.” Kai-2 started, “Having another Green ninja around. Having someone else who knows what it’s like to–”

“–to have everyone throw the weight of the world on your back?” Lloyd guessed.

“Yeah.”

“Before my Zane died, he told me that I reminded him of Atlas, the guy who held the world on his back. Welcome to the Atlas club”

“Thanks.” Kai-2 sarcastically replied.

Lloyd thought for a second before asking, “How did you absorb my energy and heal your nose?”

“Energy’s more than just balls of power.” Kai-2 answered.

“...Could you teach me?”

“I could try.” Kai-2, “I’m not that good of a teacher but I could try.”

“I’d like that.” Lloyd said.

“Sweet.” Kai-2 confirmed.

“Oh, before I forget,” Lloyd started, “There’s something you should know about Zane. He’s an android, a robot.”

Kai-2 went wide eyed, “What?! No, that’s...that...that honestly doesn’t sound too far off.” Kai-2 thought about it and said, “Yeah that makes sense, but are you sure?”

“Pretty sure.” Lloyd replied, “Julien looked really guilty when Zane asked about his non-existent mom.”

Kai-2 pinched the bridge of his nose, “That explains why he never let anyone else give Zane a physical. We should tell him, where is he?”

“Quit staring.” Jay said, “You look like a stalker.”

“I’m not staring,” Cole claimed, “I’m just trying to figure out how to talk to him.”

Both of them watched as Zane took aim with his bow and launched several arrows into his wooden target.

“You could just come over and talk to me.” Zane announced as he took aim, “You two are louder than you realize.”

“It’s not that simple.” Cole whispered to himself.

Cole knew that when he chased down to it, this Zane wasn’t his Zane. It didn’t matter how many times he was truthful with this Zane, it wouldn’t alleviate the guilt he had over his Zane’s death.  
As if he knew what Cole was thinking, Jay put his arm around Cole’s shoulder and whispered, “Just give it a shot, talking to this Zane might help you find closure about our Zane.”

Cole sighed and then got up and walked to Zane.

“What’s on your mind?” Zane said as he shot another arrow into the dummy.

Cole decided to hold off on telling Zane about his robotic origin and stated, “It’s just weird seeing you walking around. My Zane, it’s only been a year since he died.”

“My apologies.” Zane said.

Cole had forgotten how human Zane’s first body seemed. Looking back at it now, It was hard to tell he wasn’t human. The sweat forming on his brows, the way his eyes seemed full of life, his tan that he had. Cole was plagued with memories of a simpler time where the original four ninjas were all human and where Lloyd was just a candy stealing brat.

“Do you mind me asking what he was like?” Zane asked, pulling Cole out of his thoughts.

“He was kind, and thoughtful, and always accepting,” Cole started, “Whenever anyone was sad, he’d go out of his way to help them. Whenever someone needed help, he’d be there to help, even if it got him hurt in the process. He was a hero, definitely more heroic than I'll ever be.”

“He seemed like someone to look up to.” Zane observed.

“He was.” Cole agreed.

“How are you doing, emotionally?” Zane asked.

Cole knew that he didn’t know this person any longer than a day. Yet, he couldn’t help but find him trustworthy.

“Honestly, I'm not doing well.” Cole started, “I was never truthful with my Zane, over ten years and I couldn’t bother to be honest with him. Then he died and now I get to live with the fact that he spent the last few days of his life being lied to because I was too much of a coward.  
Everyone else has moved on but I can’t...I just can’t.”

Cole saw Zane listening and cursed himself, “God Zane, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be burdening you with this.”

“Don’t worry.” Zane said, “I appreciate you expressing your feelings, it’s a healthy way to cope.”

Cole decided that he was done talking about his Zane for the moment and wanted to switch the conversation to Zane, this Zane.

“Hey Zane,” Cole hesitantly asked, “have you ever felt off?”

Zane arched an eyebrow, “What do you mean?”

“Have you ever felt different from the others?” Cole asked.

“Well sure,” Zane answered, “I know that the others used to consider me ‘weird’ but i’d like to assume that their opinions of me have gotten more nuanced over the years.”

“Yeah but do you ever feel not entirely...human?”

“Cole, what are you implying?” Zane asked.

“Cole!” an old voice called out.

Cole and Zane turned to see Julien power walking to them. He pushed his glasses on top of their head so they looked like they were about to fall off.

“Cole, I could use your help with something.” Julien claimed.

“Oh, I guess i’ll talk to you later.” Zane said as he took aim with his bow.

“But–” Cole started before Julien pulled him away, the old scientist had surprising grip strength.

Zane shrugged and continued practicing his aim for the next five minutes. Soon, however, Zane noticed some glasses on the floor. Zane deduced that these were his father’s glasses and went to find him.

Cole was rushed into what looked to be Julien’s room. The desk was cluttered with medicine and invention drawings. There was a whiteboard with physics formulas next to the bed and the whole room looked cluttered by notebooks.

Julien closed the door and turned to Cole, “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Why doesn’t Zane know that he’s a nindroid?” Cole demanded to know.

“Nindroid?” Julien questioned before thinking it through, “Ninja android, that’s not the point.”

“No, it’s not.” Cole agreed, “Don’t you think that Zane deserves to know that he’s not human?”

“He IS human.” Julien countered, “At least, he is in all the ways that mattered.”

Cole rolled his eyes, “You know that’s not what I meant. Zane deserves to know the truth and honestly, I can’t think of any reason why I should just tell him right now.”

“You can’t!” Julien pleaded.

Cole turned and opened the door when Julien called out, “Wait, please.”

Cole turned around, “Why? Why lie to him? Do you know how hurt he’s gonna be when he finds out? And Zane’s a smart guy, so he will find out.”

Julein sat down on a chair, facing away from the door, “We he found me, I was going to tell him. But then I saw his new life, he had a family, he had a purpose and his own identity. How was I supposed to ruin that for my son? 

“So instead you lie to him for over ten years and tell him about his mom who doesn’t exist?” Cole questioned aggressively. 

“I know that I have to tell him but I don’t want to upend his identity. And now that the years passed, my lies have gotten deeper and deeper.”

Cole looked at Julien, unimpressed with his response, “My Zane was devastated when he found out that he was a nindroid and that was back when the serpentine were trying to awaken the great devourer. With your Zane, you’ve been lying to him for the past ten years and you made him think that he has some missing mom. DO you know how much this is gonna break him?”

“I know, I know.” Julien responded, “Please, give me some time to tell him.”

Cole shook his head, “I’m not lying to him.”

“Please, just give me a day.”

“No.” Cole resolved, “I’ve already spent too much time not being honest to my Zane, no he’s gone and I can’t ever take it back. I’m not gonna make the same mistake with this Zane.”

“No.” Julien said with a hint of aggression, “Let me fix my mistake. Please, it’s my fault that Zane doesn’t know he’s an android.”

“What?” A shocked voice called out.

Cole and Julien turned to see Zane standing at the door with Julien's glasses in his hand. He had a shocked look on his face that was a mixture of hurt, anger, confusion, and betrayal. 

“What do you mean i’m an android?” Zane asked.

Julien looked away in shame before responding, “This isn’t how I wanted you to find out.”

“Zane…” Cole called out.

Zane dropped Julien’s glasses and looked at his hands, “I’m not a human?”

“It doesn’t change anything.” Cole tried to say.

“But how, why?” Zane questioned before looking up with watery eyes, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Julien blinked some tears away and answered, “I didn’t want you to feel different from the others.”

“Different?!” Zane eagerly started, “I’ve always felt different! I thought I wasn’t normal, I spent years trying to feel normal! And i’m not even human…” Zane’s tears started falling down as he had a moment of realization, “I–I don’t have a mother...do I?”

Julien faced his son, “I’m sorry.”

Zane took a step back, “You let me think I had a missing mother, all this time you lied to me.”

Cole slowly took a step towards Zane, “Look I know how it feels to be different–”

“Stop talking.” Zane demanded before shaking his head, “I...I can’t be here right now.”

Zane turned around and walked off with Cole giving chase after him while Julien stayed behind and sat back down on his bed.

“Zane, please!” Cole called out.

Zane rounded the corner and walked out of the monastery, breaking into a full sprint while doing so. Cole stopped, knowing that he couldn’t keep up and was joined by Lloyd and Kai-2.

“Was that Zane?” Lloyd asked.

“Yeah.” Cole responded.

“I’m guessing that he knows he’s a robot.” Kai-2 guessed.

“Nindroid,” Cole corrected, “wait how did you know?”

“I told him.” Lloyd answered.

“Did he say where he’s going?” Kai-2 asked.

“No.” Cole said.

Kai-2 reached into his pocket and gave Lloyd two quarters before saying, “Well fuck.”

It was the next day and Zane still hadn’t shown up. Jay had tried to ease Cole’s nerves but the earth ninja was too stubborn to listen to him. After about an hour of trying to distract Cole, Jay gave up and walked to the lounge where he saw Cole-2 sitting on the couch and looking at what appeared to be a photo of him and his Jay. Cole-2 saw that Jay was in the room and tucked the picture back into his wallet before turning the t.v. on.

“Was that your Jay?” Jay asked.

“Yeah.” Cole-2 bluntly stated.

Jay sat down on the couch and instantly felt Cole-2 tense up and focused intensely on the t.v. 

“Were you and Jay-2 not best friends?” Jay asked.

Cole-2 saddened at the mention of Cole and Jay being best friends, “We used to be.”

“What happened to him?” Jay asked as he drew closer to Cole-2.

Cole-2 put on a hardened expression and turned to face away from Jay.

“You can’t even look at me can you?” Jay asked.

Cole-2 wordlessly got up and started walking away when Jay asked, “What did you do to him?”

Cole-2 turned around and stared at Jay with an annoyed look on his face, “Watch it Jay.”

Yet Jay stood his ground, “Cole and I heard you and your Nya when we came over here. What did you do to him?”

Cole-2 slid across the room, phasing through all of the furniture, and stared daggers into Jay’s eyes, “That’s none of your business!”

Just like that, Cole-2 turned around and strolled out of the room. This Jay had no right to interrogate him about his Jay, how dare he? He walked into the kitchen and found Cole eating a whole chocolate cake by himself.

“Stress cake?” Cole-2 asked with hope in his voice.

Cole handed another fork to Cole-2 and confirmed, “Stress cake.”

Both Coles started digging into the cake, the only noise being the fork clinking on the glass plates.

Eventually, Cole-2 swallowed a piece of cake and asked, “What are you stressing over?”

“Zane found out that he was a robot yesterday and ran away.” Cole answered.

Cole-2 choked on a piece of cake before phasing through it, “Zane’s a robot?”

“Technically an android.” Cole said.

Cole-2 took a second to process this revelation before asking, “Does anyone know where he is?“

Cole looked at him, “Why do you think i’m stress eating?”

“Shit.” Cole-2 mumbled.

“What are you stressing over?” Cole asked.

“Your Jay keeps sticking his nose in my business.” Cole-2 replied with a hint of frustration in his voice.

“Oh, sorry about that.” Cole offered, “He can be a little nosy sometimes. I’ll tell him to back off.”

Cole-2 shook his head, “I just don’t want him sticking his nose in my business.”

“He asked about your Jay?” Cole guessed.

Cole-2 flinched, it was a small flinch but it was there. 

“Forget I asked,” Cole said, much to Cole-2’s appreciation, “So, you and Nya-2?”

Cole-2 blushed, “Yeah…”

“How’d you two started dating?” Cole asked.

“After Morro’s whole thing, Nya and I started getting closer.” Cole-2 explained, “I don’t know, I guess with her being the new ninja and me becoming a ghost, I guess we just bonded over being the odd ninja out.” 

“Makes sense, that’s how I bonded with my Zane.” Cole noted.

“I saw that your Jay and Nya were dating.”

“Engaged.” Cole corrected as he chewed on another bite of his cake.

“You and Nya never tried to date or anything?” Cole-2 asked.

Cole almost choked on his cake, “Oh no, we’d never.”

“Really? Why not?” Cole-2 pondered, “Did you just not have feelings for her?”

“Yeah.” Cole answered, “That, and i’m gay.”

Cole-2’s eyes widened, “Oh, OH.”

“Surprised?” Cole asked.

“Not in the bad way but, yeah.” Cole-2 admitted, “I know you’re not me but I wouldn’t expect myself to be gay.”

“I guess.” Cole said, “But you’ve never been curious or anything?”

Cole-2 looked down like he suddenly didn’t want to be here, “Uh...yeah. I thought I might not be straight and made some not so good choices a few years back.”

“Oh.” Cole replied.

“It doesn’t matter anymore.” Cole-2 said, sounding like he was trying to convince himself, “I’m married to Nya, I have a kid on the way, and I couldn’t be happier.”

“Are you nervous?” Cole asked.

“Hell yeah.” Cole-2 said as he gestured to the stress cake, “But i’m also excited.”

Cole hesitated before asking, “Not to be rude but, do you want kids? If we were born at the same time then you’d be, what 26?”

“Yeah, I know.” Cole-2 said, “Between you and me, I didn't want the kid when Nya first told me but now, I can’t wait for Cole jr to be born.”

Cole jokingly rolled his eyes, “Please tell me that you’re not really gonna name him that?”

“No.” Cole chuckled, “nah, I was thinking of ‘Jay’ or ‘Colson’.”

Cole smiled, “Sounds nice.”

Cole-2 grabbed his fork with his ghostly hands and Cole asked, “Do you ever miss it? Being human.”

“Sometimes.” Cole admitted, “But the way I see it, i’m just as human as ever. And besides, I get to phase through things.”

“Yeah, that part was nice.” Cole recollected, “I believe that Zane would call it, ‘intangibility’.”

Cole-2 laughed, “You mean ‘the ability for one to pass their atoms between the spaces of other particles in the surface’? That’s how Zane described it.”

Both Coles laughed until Cole-2 calmed down and said, “A robot...I can’t believe that he’s a robot. That means that Julien’s been lying to him since we pulled him off that rock in the sea. Damn, that must be devastating.”

“I just hope that he’s safe.” Cole said.

“Cole!” A tired Nya-2 called out.

Cole-2 stood up, “Well, my better half’s calling me so i’ll see you later.”

Cole-2 got up and walked to his and Nya-2’s room. He arrived there and was surprised to see Jay sitting in a chair next to Nya-2, who was in the bed, and seemed to be telling her story of one of his adventures.

“So then Okino decided to help us defeat Unagami’s dragon and–” Jay stopped talking when he saw Cole-2. Jay stopped talking and focused on Cole-2, “Hey, sorry about being nosy earlier.”

Cole-2 leaned against the door frame, “Don’t worry about it. I get it, everyone else has a doppleganger, you want to know where yours is. It’s just not that simple.”

“I won’t ask again.” Jay promised.

If there was one thing Cole-2 knew, it's that Jay could never not be nosy. Still, he nodded in a show of gratitude.

“Jay?” a voice that sounded like Nya called out, “you’re not bothering my doppelganger are you?”

Nya-2 called out, “No, he’s fine. Wanna join us?”

Cole-2 moved out of the way so that Nya could walk into the room. Nya and Nya-2 sided each other up and then Nya sat in Jay’s lap before speaking up. 

“Jay, why didn’t you tell me that I looked so beautiful?” Nya jokingly asked.

“Yeah.” Nya-2 agreed, “I knew that I was pretty. But now that I can see my doppelganger, i’m drop dead gorgeous.”

Both Nyas chuckled to themselves and then Nya-2 said, “Hey we should do a double date at some point.”

“Definitely.” Nya responded.

“Ditto.” Jay added.

“Yeah, it’d be cool.” Cole-2 admitted with some slight hesitation.

Everyone fell silent and eventually Nya-2 yawned, “Sorry, just a little tired.”

Nya looked at Jay and whispered, “We should probably give them some room.”

Jay nodded, “We’re gonna go get something to eat.”

“Don’t be a stranger.” Nya-2 called out as Jay and Nya left the bedroom.

Jay and Nya walked into the hallway. Cole-2 hesitated before looking out into the hallway.

“Hey Jay?” Cole-2 called out.

The lightning ninja turned around and Cole-2 said, “I know that you’re not my Jay, but it’s good to see you acting like yourself.”

Jay arched an eyebrow and then opened his mouth to say something. Jay then stopped and closed his mouth before nodding his head with a shy smile and walking down the hallway again.”

Cole-2 took a deep breath and then closed the bedroom door. He took his shirt off and climbed into bed next to his wife.

“Did you need something?” Cole-2 asked as he started massaging Nya-2’s shoulders.

Nya-2 changed her position so she was laying flat on her back, “Jay told me about your little conversation in the lounge room, I wanted to see how you were doing.”

“It’s weird.” Cole-2 said as he stopped his massage and laid down next to Nya-2, “He hasn’t changed. It’s almost like how it used to be.”

Nya-2 started ruffling Cole-2’s hair, “Just don’t forget that he’s not our Jay.”

“I know.” Cole-2 responded, “...You know, I used to be so annoyed by our Jay’s constant jokes, and his goofy nature. Even when we were best friends, I just couldn’t stand how annoying he could be sometimes. Now, I'd give anything to have that Jay back.”

“You could always visit him.” Nya-2 suggested as she leaned over and kissed Cole-2 on the forehead.

“You know that won’t work.” Cole-2 argued, “He hates me now, and i don’t think we could go back even if we wanted to.”

Nya-2 closed her eyes and slowed her breathing before saying, “You know that it wasn’t your fault, none of it was.”

Cole-2 fluffed Nya-2’s pillows and watched as his wife fell asleep. How did he get so lucky to find someone like her?

“We both know that’s not true.” Cole-2 quietly whispered to himself.

The next day

Cole looked at the scanner, stumped as ever. Julien sat next to him and seemed to know exactly what Cole was thinking.

“We’ll find him.” Julien offered.

“And what happens after that?” Cole asked with a little malice in his voice.

“I do what I should have been doing,” Julien responded, “I tell him the truth.”

“It’s not that simple.” 

“You think I don’t know that?” Julien challenged.

“No, I don’t think you do.” Cole retorted, “You don’t know how good you’ve got it. Your Zane’s still alive, you have a chance to be honest with him. I’d give anything to have one more talk with my Zane, to be honest with him. You have that shot, you better not mess it up.”

Julien went quite at that and Cole muttered, “We just need to find him, that’s all.”

About thirty minutes of searching later, Cole sat back into his chair and rubbed his eyes. Where was Pixal when you needed her? Cole didn’t know where to find Zane, he didn’t know him enough to do so.  
Cole calmed himself down and thought about his Zane, how he and Cole bonded over Cole and him both not being human. Cole remembered when he first became a ghost, when he felt his world turned upside down. Cole would just sit in his room for days, longing to go home, somewhere where he felt safe and comfortable. 

Cole perked up, “That’s it, I know where he is.”

Julien was startled and turned to face Cole, “You know where Zane is?”

“He’s at his home.” Cole explained, “He’s probably reminiscing on his life if he’s anything like me.”

Julien shook his head, “But why would he go there if he’s trying to hide from us?”

“He might not be.” Cole answered, “He’s probably too busy dealing with your lies to be focused on anything else.”

Julien winced at Cole’s words and then said, “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go get him.”

Julien stood up but Cole put a hand on his shoulder, “I think it might be best if you stay behind. He might have to calm down first and you’d just make it worse.”

“No,” Julien denied, “he’s my son. Do you even know where we live?”

“Yes.” Cole said without hesitation, “The frozen forest.”

“Do you even know how to get there?” Julien asked.

“I’ll take him there.” a voice from behind offered.

Cole and Julien turned around to find Gramadon standing in the doorway.

“The child’s right, Julien.” Garmadon admitted, “You stay back and we’ll go fetch Zane.”

Julien started to talk but Garmadon silenced him with a glare before turning to Cole, “Get your coat boy, we leave in five minutes.”

It was an hour later and Cole and Garmadon were trudging through the snow. Cole usually didn’t mind the cold but this place was called the frozen forest for a reason. 

“Why are you staring at me?” Garmadon asked in a graveled tone.

Cole blinked and looked away, though he had clearly been noticed.

“Sorry, i’m just not used to seeing you not being evil.” Cole explained.

Garmadon didn’t respond so Cole continued, “My Garmadon was only good for about a year or so. Then he died so we could stop Morro. Then he came back and almost killed everyone. It’s just a little weird seeing you…”

“What? Without four arms?” Garmadon coldly asked.

Cole decided to stop talking and they both walked in silence for a few minutes.

“How is he?” Garmadon asked, “How is Lloyd? What’s he like?”

“He’s brave, and kind, and smart, and responsible. I’d say he’s too responsible. He’s always blaming himself so everything. But he ver gives up because he’s a fighter.”

“Hmmp.” Garmadon said, “He sounds like someone i’d be proud of.”

Cole looked at Garmadon, “Maybe you should talk to him. Get to know him, you know?”

Garmadon sighed and contemplated what Cole said before announcing, “We’re here.”

Cole stopped and looked at the white and brown spotted tree that stood before him. If he didn’t know that the tree was fake Cole would’ve just assumed that it was just a regular old tree. Cole was brought back to when his Zane discovered that he was a robot, back when he discovered his true potential. Cole smiled at the memory and forced himself back to the present.   
Cole felt around the tree and then pushed the metal bark away, revealing an open door. 

“You go ahead.” Garmadon called out, “I have a feeling Zane doesn’t need his master at the moment. He needs a friend right now.”

Cole nodded and then descended down the old staircase. He had to cough to avoid choking on the thick dusty air.

“Zane?” Cole called out.

Cole finished his descent and examined the small circular room. It was dusty and shattered with plans and blueprints, Cole could tell that Julien used to live here as it looked exactly like his room back at the monastery. But sitting on the dusty bed, was a certain ice ninja who was holding up an old picture book.

“Zane.” Cole quietly called out.

“Did you know that I've never bled?” Zane asked without looking up, “I’ve been stabbed, shot, and in so many other dangerous situations. And now that I think about it, I've never actually seen my own blood. How could I be so foolish?”

Cole slowly stepped towards Zane, “That’s not your fault Zane, no ever questions if they’re an android. You didn’t know.”

“I always knew I was different,” Zane turned the page of the book with trembling fingers, “but I never realized that I was a freak.”

“You’re not a freak.” Cole said, “You’re just different.”

Zane dropped the photo book onto the dirty ground, “I don’t want to be different. I–I don’t want any of this.”

Cole cautiously sat down next to Zane, “I know it can be hard Zane believe me.”

“Really?” Zane asked with resentment in his voice, “Did you find out that your whole life was a lie? Did you get lied to by your only family? Did you spend the last ten years looking for a mother who doesn’t exist?! You don’t know! You have no idea what it’s like to find out that you’re not even human! You have no idea what it’s like to find out that you’re just some...something! Just some scrap metal.”

Zane finished yelling and then put his head in his hands as he started crying. Cole didn’t know what to do, Zane was right, he didn’t know what it was like to be in Zane’s situation. Cole knew that he wanted to help but didn’t want to make things worse.  
Cole awkwardly put his hand on Zane’s right shoulder and patted him on the back. Cole waited for Zane to calm down before speaking up.

“You’re right, I don’t know.” Cole admitted, “But I do know that you’re just some scrap metal. You’re a person, and you have humanity.”

“Or am I just a program pretending to be human?” Zane asked.

“I don’t know,” Cole admitted, “I don’t think so. But what I do know is that no machine would’ve listened to me the way you did a few days ago.”

“...I just don’t know what I am anymore.” Zane said with a somber tone.

“Who.” Cole corrected, “You just don’t know WHO you are.”

“Who, what. Either way, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.” Zane admitted.

“Well...then let’s find out who you are.” Cole suggested.

“What?” Zane asked.

“You said you don’t know who you are.” Cole explained, “Let’s go find out who you are.”

Zane looked down again, “But to redefine my identity? I don’t know if I want to do that.”

“Well what if you find out that you’re the same Zane you’ve always been?” Cole asked, “You don’t know until you try.”

“...I don’t know” Zane muttered.

“You wouldn’t be alone.” Cole clarified, “I'll be there with you, every step of the way.”

Cole stood up and offered Zane his hand, “Come on, let’s go find out who Zane Julien is.”

Zane looked at Cole’s hand before taking it and letting himself be pulled up, “Let us go then, I believe I should talk to my father.”

Garmadon, Zane, and Cole all traveled back to the monastery relatively and were approached by Kai-2 and Wu. 

Kai-2 walked to Zane and hugged him, “You know that you’re my brother right? No matter what you’re made of.”

Zane pulled back and walked off saying, “I need to find my father.”

Kai-2 started to go after Zane but was held back by Garmadon who said, “Zane needs time to get used to this revelation. Don’t smother him.”

“Yes Sensei.” Kai-2 said before he and Garmadon walked off.

Wu waited for them to leave and then turned to Cole, “I see you were able to bring Zane home.”

“Yeah.” Cole responded, “he’s just like him, it’s like Zane back with us again.”

Wu placed his hand on Cole’s shoulder, “That is not our Zane, you’d do well to remember that.”

“I know.” Cole said

He wasn’t confusing the two Zane's, he just noticed that they were really similar. Cole couldn’t conflate the two even if he wanted to. All Cole knew was that he was hungry and needed a distraction.

“I’m gonna go get a snack.” Cole said, walking off.

Zane walked into his room and found Julien looking at a photo of him. Julien saw Zane and sat up, ecstatic and overjoyed. 

“Zane! You’re ok. I’m so sorry for what I've done” Julien exclaimed as he went to hug Zane.

Zane held up his hand and Julien stopped to let him talk, “I am going to ask a few base questions and I need you to answer them truthfully.”

Julien nodded his head, “Yes, of course.”

Zane sat down on his bed while Julien took the desk chair.

“What am I made of?” Zane asked.

“Your insides are all robotic.” Julien explained, “It’s all a mixture of wiring, and carbo plating, and titanium metal. Your skeletal structure is designed after the human body as well. Your brain is a self learning computer that can hold 25 petabytes of data, about ten times the amount of data a human brain can hold. Zane, your body and brain allow you to be stronger, faster, smarter, and more durable, than most other humans.”

“Most?” Zane asked.

“Yes, most. I didn’t want to make you unstoppable, just in case.” Julien admitted.

“What am I powered by?” 

“Three forms of energy.” Julien answered, “Electricity, food, solar energy. Any of these three can be used to power you, and you have a battery that can last about thirty days.”

“I have the ability to consume food?” Zane asked before thinking about how he eats at least twice a day, “Never mind, of course I do.”

“You have a digestive system.” Julien explained, “It’s synthetic of course but I wanted you to have the opportunity to experience foods as other humans do.”

Zane looked down and asked, “What about my skin and hair? My skin has gotten cut all the time and I have to get haircuts every two months.”

Julien responded, “Your skin is very much human. It’s synthetic skin tissue that’s biologically engineered to age at a fourth of the rate of normal skin. Your hair is real too, though it wasn’t white until the last Ice elemental voted us.”

“You said that my brain was self learning?” Zane noted.

“Your personality and consciousness is the result of a self learning A.I. that I programmed years ago.” Julien explained, “Think of the A.I. as a soul, but like with humans, your experiences and choices have defined who you are as a person.”

“Do I even have true emotions?” Zane pondered.

“Zane, you’re a sentient consciousness, of course you have real emotions. I never did any pre-programming for you. So when I created you, you were just a blank slate. Everything that you are, all your quirks and traits, they were all developed over time. Zane, you’re about as human as you can get.”

“You did no personality programming?” 

“None whatsoever.” Julien confirmed.

“So you didn’t, you didn’t program me to be gay?” Zane asked.

Julien shook his hair, “No. In all honesty, I have no idea how you came to have your sexual orientation. I don’t know if it was because they way the you lived your life influenced your sexuality or if you were somehow activated as gay. But either way, it doesn’t matter.”

“But it does.” Zane retorted, “It all does, you are telling me that none of it matters that you allowed me to develop as myself. But how am I supposed to trust you–” Julien flinched at that, “– when all you’ve done is lie to me?”

Zane took a nervous deep breath, “I want to learn about myself, the mechanical parts, the supposed human parts, all of it.”

“We can do that, I can help you find out who you are.” Julien said as he reached for Zane’s hand.

Zane pulled his hand away and looked Julien in the eyes, “Don't mistake our conversation for forgiveness. You still have to earn that.”

“I know.” Julien said.

“It’s not enough to say that you know.” Zane claimed, “I need you to promise that you’ll never lie to me on this level again.”

“I promise.” Julien said without hesitation.

“Ok.” Zane said, “If you don’t mind, I am very tired and I want to go to...do I even need to sleep?”

“Depends on what your settings are.” Julien said.

“Settings?”

“I made a series of settings that you can enable or disable that would help you feel more...human. You could turn off your ability to sleep, feel pain, and sexual desires among many other things.”

Zane sat back, realizing how long of a process this was going to take.

“Well I happen to like sleeping anyways so…”

Julien took the message and walked out the door.

He turned around and said, “Good night son, I love you.”

Zane turned to face his father, “I love you too father, but if you ever lie to me again, I promise that you will never hear from me again.“

Julien’s eyes went wide but he nodded in agreement and closed the door.

The next day

Kai-2 walked up on Kai, who was hitting the punching bag, and asked, “So...are you a ninja?”

“Why are you asking?” Kai asked as he elbowed the bag.

“I don’t know,” Kai-2, “I just noticed that i’ve never seen you wear a gi.”

“Good for you.” Kai muttered as he continued hitting the punching bag. 

“So I take it that you’re not.” Kai-2 asked.

“Why do you give a fuck?” Kai asked.

Kai-2 shrugged his shoulders, “We’re dopplegangers, aren’t you even a little curious about how all this works, or how similar and different we are?”

“Not really.” Kai responded.

“Do you have a problem with me?” Kai-2 asked in a calm manner.

Kai didn’t have any response other than punching the bag even harder.

“Look i’m not your enemy.” Kai-2 started, “If you don’t want to talk that’s fine–”

“Good.” Kai interrupted, “I don’t want to talk.”

Kai-2 sighed to himself and saw that Lloyd and Julien were walking to him and Kai. Kai also noticed as he smiled at Lloyd and wiped the sweat off of his brow. 

“What’s up?” Kai asked.

“I’ve finished analyzing the bullets,” Julien claimed, “And not only did I confirm that they were of the same origin, I believe I know who made them.”

Kai’s eyes widened, “Well? Who is it?!”

“Ronin.” Lloyd answered, “They’re a special type of ammo that could only have been made by Ronin.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Kai said, “Why would Ronin want to shoot Skylor?”

“We don’t know.” Lloyd, “But Julien said that Ronin-2 can’t be the culprit.”

“Well why the fuck not?” Kai aggressively asked.

“Because our Ronin’s dead.” Kai-2 stated.

“And that just leaves our Ronin.” Lloyd said, “But I think we should check Ronin-2’s home just in case.”

Kai-2 looked at Lloyd, “I helped bury him myself, but I guess it wouldn’t hurt to look. I’ll go check it out.”

“Ok.” Lloyd started, “Kai, you go with him.”

“What? Why me?” Kai demanded to know.

Lloyd turned to Kai in a respectful yet commanding manner, “Because we all need to work together to figure this out, and you are the only one who’s not putting in an effort.”

Kai rolled his eyes, “Look, just because i’m not not jerking him–” Kai gestured to Kai-2, “–off, it doesn't mean that i’m not helping.”

Lloyd pulled Kai aside and whispered, “What’s gotten into you?”

“Nothing’s gotten ‘into me’,” Kai defended, “but i’m not gonna bend over backwards to be friends with ‘Mr. Perfect’ just because he looks like me.”

Lloyd pinched his nose, “Come on, it’ll just be for a few hours. Just please go check Ronin-2’s base.”

Kai tried to ignore Lloyd’s pleading face, “Oh no, you’re too damn old to be using the puppy dog eyes on me.”

Lloyd continued to stare longingly at Kai. As much as he saw Kai as a big brother, Lloyd knew that Kai saw him as a little brother.

“Please, for me?” Lloyd innocently asked.

Lloyd could see Kai breaking down and decided to deliver one final blow, “Come on, we might find Skylor’s shooter.”

That convinced Kai as he flipped Lloyd off and then walked away saying, “I’ll grab my fucking jacket.”

Kai-2 and Kai landed on the deck of Stix and stared into the empty and rundown building of Ronin-2’s shop and home. Kai-2 was wearing his green gi while Kai wore black sweat pants and a red tee-shirt that he, begrudgingly, borrowed from Kai-2.

“Someone’s in there.” Kai-2 announced, “I can feel a lot of electrical energy on the second story.”

“You can feel energy?” Kai asked.

“Yep.” Kai-2 said as he examined the front door.

“Wait so you can just feel heat around or something?” Kai asked.

“Heat energy, electric energy, if it’s some form of energy, I can sense it.” Kai-2 explained.

“Can Lloyd do that?” Kai pondered.

“He can learn to do it, i think.” Kai-2 responded, “Ready to see who’s living here?”

Kai nodded and then he and Kai-2 kicked the front door open. The shop didn’t look suspicious in any way, but the sound was coming from upstairs. Kai looked at Kai-2 and then started sneaking up the stairs. When they reached the front door to Ronin-2’s apartment, Kai-2 charged up two energy balls while Kai kicked the door in.   
Kai-2 charged into the dark and musty room and was met by a display of monitors. Kai walked into the room and saw the monitors hooked up to a wall. He focused on one of the monitors and gasped in shock.   
The monitor on the top right seemed to be playing some recording. It looked to be a recording of a head cam. The person who was wearing the camera was walking to the edge of a building during the night with a long duffle bag. 

“Where is that?” Kai-2 asked, “I don’t recognize it.”

“It’s Ninjago City.” Kai explained, “My Ninjago City.”

Kai-2 and Kai continued to watch the recording. The person in the recording opened up the bag and pulled out a sniper rifle. Then they kneeled down on the edge of the roof and focused on another building. The camera zoomed in on the building and two figures were shown to have been talking to each other. 

The camera zoomed in even further and Kai exclaimed, “That’s Skylor and Nya!”

The camera focused on Skylor as she turned to Nya, who took off running and jumped onto another building. The person watched as Skylor took off and took aim. Skylor jumped off of the building and the person fired the sniper rifle. Kai flinched as Skylor hit the side of the building and fell off. Then the recording stopped and started replaying itself.

“Hey, are you ok?” Kai-2 asked.

“This must be the base of the person who shot Skylor.” Kai muttered, “I am so going to fucked them up.”

Both Kai's froze as they noticed a ticking in the room. Kai traced the sound to a closed door and silently pointed it out to Kai-2.   
However, the second they looked at the door, a blast rocked the building as the door was thrown at the two Kai's. Kai-2 blasted the door off of them and pulled a dazed Kai to his feet. Kai grabbed his head and felt an oncoming headache. A figure in a black cloak ran through the door and bolted down the stairs. Kai recklessly jumped down the stairs and tackled the figure.   
The figure fell to the ground and Kai hit them repeatedly until the figure pulled out a Karambit and sliced down Kai’s chest before kicking him off. At that moment, Kai-2 came down stairs and blasted the figure while Kai grabbed onto the cloak. The figure was ripped away from their cloak and flung against the wall.   
Kai looked at the figure and recognized the face of Ronin staring back at him. Ronin threw a grenade at Kai-2 and then took off out of the building, sprinting as if his life depended on it. Kai-2 took the grenade, threw it upstairs, and then threw himself on Kai to protect him as the grenade detonated. Kai-2 climbed off of Kai and saw his chest wound. 

“Oh shit.” Kai-2 exclaimed as he took off Kai’s shirt and looked at his chest.

Kai started feeling the effects of blood loss as Kai-2 warmed up his hands with energy. Kai-2 put his hands on Kai’s chest and started sending energy to him. Kai instantly felt better as he saw his chest start to heal and his wounds close on his own. Kai-2 finished healing Kai’s wounds and used his sleeve to wipe some of Kai’s blood off of his chest. 

Kai slowly sat up and examined his chest before turning to Kai-2, “Thanks.”

Kai-2 nodded and handed Kai his shirt while he radioed Lloyd, “Lloyd?”

After a few seconds, a crackly Lloyd responded, “What’s the situation?”

Kai-2 looked at Kai who gave him a thumbs up, “I think we know who shot your Skylor.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, hope you enjoyed the chapter. I was wondering you were able to tell the difference between the two ninja groups with the "-2" at the end of their names for some of them. Also, I wanted to get your thoughts about this Zane compared to the original Zane.   
> In the next chapter, the ninja will continue their search for the shooter. See you then!


	5. An animated legend

It was the day after Kai-2 and Kai had made the discovery that Ronin was the shooter. However, no one knew where else to look for him so all the ninja decided to let him settle down and get comfortable before capturing him. Everyone was chilling at the monastery, enjoying their day off.  
Cole was planning on playing some video games with Cole-2 but heard that Zane had been staying in his room and made a change of plans.   
Now, here they were, walking through a farmers market and wearing regular clothes with hats and sunglasses in order to blend in with the crowds. It was warm but everyone was still wearing jackets. Cole took the lead and Zane followed him through the crowded aisle.

“See? This is fun.” Cole insisted.

“It would’ve been fun had you left me alone like I asked.” Zane retorted.

Cole smiled at the white ninja, “You know you’re enjoying this. Besides, we both know that being alone isn’t healthy, especially when going through emotional stuff.”

“I could’ve done without you carrying my out of my room.” Zane responded.

As Zane walked, he took in the sight of the beautiful flowers and the sounds of guitar music. He did have to admit that it was nice to be reminded that Ninjago city was more than just a target for villainous attacks.  
Cole walked off and grabbed a chocolate ice cream cone and offered to buy Zane one. Zane took up the offer and grabbed a vanilla ice cream cone.

Cole and Zane both took a seat to finish their ice cream cones. Once they were done, both ninja continued walking side by side as the crowd had mostly dissipated.

Zane caved in, “I must admit, it has been rather enjoyable.”

Cole expressed a victorious look, “Right? See, we need this. I don’t know about you but I like these days. Fighting’s cool but spending time being a regular person is fun too.”

“I suppose, but this doesn’t solve my bigger problems.” Zane pointed out.

“Neither does sitting in your room all day.” Cole argued, “And this way gives you a distraction that we both can enjoy.”

“Well thanks then.” Zane said.

“Anything for a friend.” Cole replied.

Zane stopped walking, “Friend?”

Zane didn’t have a problem being friends with Cole but they hadn’t even known each other for a week.

Cole turned to Zane, clearly confused, “Yeah, friends. Or, at least, i’d like to be friends if that’s ok with you.”

“Of course.” Zane answered and the two men continued walking.

“Oh good.” Cole chuckled a little, “that would’ve been awkward.”

Zane didn’t respond as he looked at a tent filled with oil paintings. Most of the paintings were of abstract faces, some looked happy and some looked sad. Zane was particularly drawn to one painting in which a teen boy was looking into a mirror, only to find that his reflection was a grey blob that hadn’t taken any particular shape yet. Zane checked the price tag of the painting and considered buying it. It might do him some good to shake up his room a little.

“No way.” Cole said as he dashed over to a painting.

Zane examined that painting. The piece looked to be an example of realism art and depicted a man smiling. He looked to be in his late 40’s. He had brown hair and brown eyes. The man in the painting seemed at peace. Cole was looking at the painting and was clearly reminiscing over some past memories.

“Do you know him?” Zane asked.

Cole looked at him and smiled, “This guy is only the voice of my childhood. This is Kirby Morrow.”

Zane tilted his head, “Who’s that?”

Cole continued admiring the painting, “He’s a voice actor, a really good one. He used to voice characters in all my childhood t.v. shows.”

Zane looked at the painting and then at Cole, “Who did he voice?”

“Who didn’t he voice?” Cole asked, “He’s been Goku, Cyclops from X-men, Iron man, and Anakin Skywalker. Those are the ones I used to watch but i’m sure he’s done countless voices.”

Cole looked at the painting of the man who had given him such joy as a child, “He’s such an important and cool voice actor.”

“It sounds like you’re a fan of his.” Zane guessed.

“I’m one of his biggest fans.” Cole corrected Zane, “Don’t tell anyone, but I always thought that if they made a movie about the ninja, he’d played me.”

“He probably would’ve done a good job judging by your praise of him.” Zane noted.

“He’d be the perfect choice to play me.” Cole confirmed.

Cole smiled and quietly said, “I don’t know about your Cole, Zane, but Morrow helped build so much of my character. As a kid, his characters and his work taught really important lessons. Morrow has helped make me the person I am today.”

Cole turned to Zane and finished his thoughts, “I don’t know who i’d be if it wasn’t for him. I owe him so much. He’s my hero.”

Zane smiled at Cole and then grabbed the painting, “Come, I'll buy him for you.”

Cole shook his head, “Nah, I couldn’t.”

But Zane had already grabbed the painting and was at the register. By the time that Cole got up there, Zane had already bought the painting and handed it to Cole.

“Consider it payback for the ice cream earlier.” Zane suggested.

Cole beamed, “I-thank you Zane. You have no idea what this means to me.”

Zane smiled and they continued walking through the farmers market. Eventually, the two ninja got tired and hailed a taxi to go home. Zane smiled as Cole fell asleep still holding the painting.  
It was night time when Cole and Zane got home. Zane thanked Cole for the fun day and then excused himself to go to the restroom. Cole sat down in the lounge room and gazed upon his newly acquired painting. 

“Thank you,” Cole said to Kirby Morrow, “Thank you for everything.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you all might know, Kirby Morrow, the voice of Cole, has recently passed away. I'm not going to comment on him as a person because I simply don't know him that well.   
> Cole is my favorite ninja. He's my favorite because I find him so relatable. He's naturing, stubborn, and tough. These, among many other traits, makes Cole one of the best characters in Ninjago. This is, in large part, due to Morrow's talented voice acting.  
> Kirby Morrow has helped bring the world of Ninjago to life in a huge way and his contribution to the series can't be understated. Cole's voice, his quirks, jokes, attitude, and heart largely come from Morrow's talents.  
> I don't know how the series will handle this loss moving forward, but I do know one thing. Kirby Morrow has left an undeniable legacy on Ninjago and he will be missed dearly.


	6. Attack of the Legion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ninja continue their search for Ronin.

“Mind if I join you?” Wu asked a relaxed Garmadon.

Garmadon was sitting down and watching the various ninja trains. He looked up at Wu and gestured to the empty seat beside him. Wu sat down and observed the ninja. Kai was battling Skylor-2, Dareth-2 was fighting Jay. Cole-2 and Cole were dueling, and Nya was duking it out with Zane.   
It had been a week since Cole and Zane went to the farmers market and even longer since the revelation that Ronin was behind the shootings.   
Wu watched as the ninja battled each other, they all seemed almost evenly matched. Cole-2 undoubtedly had the biggest advantage as he could just phase through any attacks, despite his deadly weakness to water. This could provide some good teachings for Cole, however, as he was now fighting someone who couldn’t just be overpowered.   
Dareth-2 had the edge on Jay as he closed in. Jay always preferred jumping around and keeping some distance from his often bigger opponents. Dareth seemed to revel in close quarter fights and as a result, Jay was having to play keep away with someone who was just as fast as him.   
Kai, however, had the edge over Skylor-2 as he threw an elbow at her. Skylor-2, much like Skylor, was good at evasion and dodged many of Kai’s attacks. But Kai made up for this through his aggression as he charged at her and continued his barrage of attacks.  
Nya and Zane seemed to be evenly matched. This Zane seemed to have the same knack for reading his opponents that Wu’s Zane did. This should’ve put Zane in a position to beat Nya, despite her mastery of counterattacking. Instead, Nya seemed to have the edge as she consistently used Zane attacks against him. Wu couldn’t tell if Nya had simply improved her fighting prowess or Zane was distracted by the recent revelation of his robotic origins. 

“Your ninja are very skilled.” Wu observed.

“As are yours.” Garmadon reciprocated.

A minute passed, then two minutes, then five minutes.

“Your Cole told me that i’m still evil where you come from.” Garmadon said.

“Unfortunately.” Wu confirmed, “As much as we tried, the darkness kept taking you away from us.”

“Did I–I mean did your Garmadon hurt Lloyd?”

Wu didn’t respond.

“I see.” Garmadon said, “...How’s Misako?”

“Alive and well.” Wu responded, “What of yours?”

“Dead.” Garmadon bluntly stated, Wu decided not to pry anymore.

“But this is nice.” Garmadon said, clearly trying to change that subject, “Just us two sitting around.”

“Almost like old times.” Wu replied.

The two brothers watched as Jay flipped backwards to dode Dareth-2’s clawed gauntlets. Dareth-2 rushed at Jay and Jay did a flip kick. Dareth-2 punched Jay in his diaphragm as Jay kicked Dareth-2 in the chest and both ninja went down.

“Do you ever wonder what they’ll do after we’re gone?” Garmadon wondered.

“Sometimes,” Wu admitted, “but I know they’ll make us proud whether we’re with them or not.”

Garmadon sighed, “We can only hope.”

Just then the skies cleared and a green dragon flew and landed at the Monastery. Kai-2 and Lloyd climbed off the dragon and approached Wu and Garmadon, dusting the moist soil off of them while doing so. The other ninja stopped sparring and followed closely behind. 

“What did you find?” Garmadon asked. 

“Ronin-2’s body is in his coffin,” Lloyd answered, “so it can’t be him. But I don’t think it’s my Ronin either.”

Wu looked at Lloyd, “I understand you're fond of Ronin, Lloyd, but we mustn’t rule out that possibility.”

“So what?” Nya asked, “We send someone over to arrest Ronin on something he might not have even done?”

“Not arrest,” Wu clarified, “watch over. I will go stay with Ronin and see if he truly is our culprit.”

“Are you master?” Lloyd asked.

“Yes, you ninja are perfectly capable of handling yourselves on your own.” Wu confirmed.

“Don’t worry sensei,” Jay added, “we’ll be fine. Besides, what’s the worst that can happen?” 

Everyone stared at Jay and Cole responded, “Jay, I swear if you just jinxed us–”

“I know there is nothing to cause concern.” Wu said as he turned to Garmadon, “Would you be willing to watch over my ninja as I investigate these shootings on our side?”

Garmadon nodded his head, “You have my word, I'll watch over them as if they were my own. Now, Jay, would you mind accompanying me to the rift?”

“Not at all Sensei.” Jay said as he formed his dragon.

“No.” Garmadon said, “The police are looking after the rift and they won’t be too happy to see Jay. My Cole will take him.”

Cole-2 nodded, formed his dragon, and climbed on. Wu nodded before climbing on. Then the ninja watched as their sensei flew up and away. 

Lloyd turned to face everyone, “Ok, Wu’s checking out our Ronin but we should still keep eyes open on this side.”

The ninja nodded and went inside the monastery now that their daily training was done. Lloyd turned to Kai-2 and Garmadon, “Well, we’ve got to continue searching for something. Whoever this Ronin is, he’s still a threat.”

Kai-2 nodded in agreement, “I’ll keep searching for any traces of that energy, but we need to be careful with Ronin. I don’t know about you, Lloyd, but our Ronin was able to take all of us out a few years back and that was him not trying to kill us. There’s no telling how deadly this Ronin could be.”

“We’ll have Julien scan the city.” Garmadon offered, “Until then, there’s no use graveling around and wasting our time on scouring the city.”

“But sensei.” Kai-2 started, “We don’t have any time to waste, If Ronin has Maya, we need to get her.”

“I know you’re worried.” Garmadon said, “But unless you know how to track Ronin, we can’t afford to have anyone by themselves or wasting their energy, especially you.”

Kai-2’s eyebrows narrowed with a flash of anger, “But sensei–”

“But nothing.” Garmadon interrupted, “Ronin knows how to hide from us, he knows how to hunt us down and there’s no telling what he’s up to at this very instant. I will not have you risking the safety of the team for a small possibility of finding your daughter.”

Kai-2 glared at Garmadon and Lloyd could feel Kai-2 holding down his aggression. 

“Sensei–” Kai-2 started.

“You may go Kai.” Garmadon finished.

Kai-2 muttered to himself and then angrily stomped away. Lloyd turned to Garmadon and wondered what was running through his father’s doppelganger.

“What was that for?” Lloyd challenged.

Garmadon sighed before explaining, “Kai is assuming that Ronin has Maya. And wherever Ronin is, he’ll almost certainly know if we’re coming, yes?”

Lloyd hesitated before nodding his head.

Garmadon continued, “Now, imagine that you’re flying through the city and happen to see Ronin. Assuming that he has Maya, You’re probably going to try and save her, yes?”

Lloyd didn’t have to say anything. His look was all the confirmation that Garmadon needed.

“And in your bout of emotional turmoil, you swoop in and try to be the hero. Let me ask you, do you want to risk the chance that this Ronin won’t hurt the girl before you can save her?”

“No.” Lloyd responded, though he really didn’t know whether or not he would.

“No, of course not.” Garamdon added, “I wouldn’t, Wu wouldn’t, but my Kai will. He’s too emotionally tied to all of this to think clearly. As much as he tries, he still has that hot headed natured in him and since it’s his daughter, he’s unable to see the bigger picture.”

Lloyd conceded, “Ok, I get it.”

Garmadon placed a hand on Lloyd’s shoulder, “Trust me, I don’t like this any more than you do. And I know that I sound...not empathetic, but i’m trying to look at the bigger picture, Ronin’s too smart to fight head on. We have to be smarter than that.”

“You’re right, I just don’t like it.” Lloyd admitted as he started to walk away.

Garmadon watched Lloyd walk away before running to catch up to him, “Lloyd, wait up.”

The Green ninja turned around as Garmadon caught up to him, “What is it?”

“We should go to dinner sometime.” Garmadon suggested, “Talk and get to know each other. I know i’m not your father but i’d like to, if that’s ok with you.”

Lloyd formed a small smile, “That’d be great.”

“What time would you want to go?” Garmadon asked, “I know a great sushi place.”

“How does tonight sound?”

“That works.” Garmadon confirmed, “I’ll see you tonight.”

Lloyd smiled and walked into the monastery. Even though he said yes, Lloyd wanted a second opinion about Garmadon. Even though he’d never admit it to the other ninja, Lloyd trusted Kai the most and decided to seek out his opinion.

He went into the lounge and saw Jay and Nya waiting outside one of the bathrooms.

“Hey,” Lloyd called out, “do either of you two know where Kai is?”

“He’s in the shower.” Nya called out.

“And he’s taking too long!” Jay exclaimed.

Lloyd smirked at Jay’s comment and leaned against the wall, waiting for Kai to finish getting out of the shower.

Jay looked down the hallway and whispered to Lloyd, “Pst, hey Lloyd, have you heard anything about my Jay-2?”

“No.” Lloyd quietly responded back.

“Don’t you think it’s a little weird that Garmadon didn’t want me being seen in public?” Jay asked.

“Jay, Cole-2 already made it pretty clear that he didn’t want you being nosy.” Nya said.

“I know but how can I not be nosy when Jay-2 can’t even be seen in public?” Jay defended.

“It doesn’t matter.” Lloyd asserted, “Nya’s right, it’s none of our business. When they want to tell you, they will.”

Jay crossed his arms and grumbled, “I don’t know why everyone else gets to meet their doppleganger.”

Lloyd decided to change the subject, “Where’s Cole?”

“He’s with Zane.” Jay replied.

“Of course.” Lloyd noted, “Who else would he be with?”

“Calm down,” Nya joked, “Cole’s just helping Zane cope with being a nindroid.”

“Sure.” Jay muttered under his breath.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Nya

“He’s with Zane all the time.” Jay pointed out, “and Zane clearly doesn’t mind.”

“Are you jealous?” Lloyd asked.

“No,” Jay exclaimed, “i’m worried. Cole’s already sad about our Zane, and now this Zane shows up. I think Cole might be mixing the two up.”

Just then, the bathroom door opened up and Kai walked out, dressed in a red long sleeve shirt and black pants. 

“Finally.” Nya said as she pulled Jay into the bathroom.

Kai looked horrified as he heard Nya and Jay lock the bathroom door and then quickly walked away, with Lloyd following behind. Kai walked out into the lounge and then turned to face Lloyd.

“What’s up, short stuff?” Kai asked.

“Do you have time to talk?” Lloyd questioned.

“I’m gonna go get a haircut but do you wanna tag along and talk on the way?” Kai suggested.

“Sure.” Lloyd agreed, “Let’s go.”

About two and a half later and Kai and Lloyd left the barbershop. Kai had decided to play it safe and got the same haircut he had before going to prison. Now, they were waiting for an uber and Lloyd had just gotten done explaining his meeting with Garmadon and now Kai was thinking about his response.

“I know he’s not really my dad and I know that we have a mission,” Lloyd said, “I just want to get to him, but he’s not even my father so is there even a point?”

Kai took a deep breath and replied, “I don’t know, every time you get close to Garmadon, he always hurts you.”

Lloyd looked down, “Yeah, you’re right.”

Kai saw the disappointment on Lloyd’s face and silently crushed himself for caring so much for Lloyd. Kai knew that Garmadon had always been a sore subject for Lloyd and a cause for a lot of his pain. Now there was another Garmadon who wasn’t evil, even if he was a dick, and Lloyd was jumping at the opportunity. Kai thought that Lloyd shouldn’t get close with Garmadon from the Quasiverse but he also knew that Lloyd was still just a kid who wanted to be around his father. Against his better judgment, Kai spoke up.

“You know what? Fuck what I said before. Go have dinner with Garmadon.”

Lloyd looked up at Kai, clearly confused, “Really?”

“Yeah,” Kai reassured, “you should go, you could use the break. And why the hell are you even asking me for permission?”

“I’m not asking for permission,” Lloyd corrected, “i’m just asking for your opinion.”

“I think you should go for it.” Kai lied, “Just be careful with him ok?”

“I will mom.” Lloyd teased.

“All right, listen here you little shit–” Kai started before being interrupted.

“Oh my god, it’s the Green ninja!” a voice called out.

Kai and Lloyd turned around to see a random guy shyly approaching them. The man walked past Lloyd and smiled at Kai.

“I’m sorry if i’m being weird,” the man offered, “You’re just, you’re right here. Like wow, i’m really talking to the green ninja.”

Kai scowled and replied, “You got the wrong person dumbass, i’m not a ninja.”

The man was taken aback, “Oh, sorry, I didn’t know.”

Kai glared at him, “Well now you do so fuck off.”

Lloyd stared at Kai, “What was that?”

Kai ignored Lloyd’s question as a car pulled up next to them, “Our rides here.”

Lloyd and Kai climbed into the back seats and the car took off. Lloyd took advantage of the enclosed space and spoke up.

“Why’d you yell at the guy? He didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Because I don’t fucking need anyone to mistake me for Mr. Perfect.” Kai answered bluntly.

“Kai-2” Lloyd guessed, “He’s not perfect, you know that right?”

“Sure.” Kai said with a dismissive tone.

“He’s not.” Lloyd insisted, thinking Kai-2’s outburst earlier, “If anything, you and him have more in common than you realize.”

“Like what, drug dealing?” Kai muttered.

“What was that?” Lloyd asked.

Kai shook his head, “Nothing.”

But it was too late as Lloyd had already figured out what Kai had said.

“Is that why you don’t like him?” Lloyd asked.

“I don’t like him because...because…” Kai trailed off as he realized he technically didn’t have a reason to like Kai-2, “It doesn’t matter why I don’t like him.”

Lloyd hesitated before asking, “Is that why you said you weren’t a ninja? Because of your past?”

“I said i’m not the Green ninja.”

“No, you said that you weren’t a ninja at all.” Lloyd corrected.

“Well i’m not.” Kai admitted, “Skylor’s the Fire ninja now and i’m not gonna take that from her.”

“That’s not all Kai.” Lloyd stated.

Kai sighed with agitation, “The ninja are supposed to be heroes, not fucking convicts.”

Lloyd pulled back with surprise as the Uber pulled up to the base of the monastery.

“But, you are a hero, Kai.” Lloyd insisted.

Kai got out of his side of the uber and responded, “A hero doesn’t sell drugs to kids Lloyd.” before slamming the door and walking into the monastery.

Two days later

“Ok, first we’re gonna focus on your ability to heal.” Kai-2 told Lloyd. 

Lloyd nodded and watched as Kai-2 grabbed a bow and looked at Dareth-2. Skylor-2 sitting down and watching the lesson. Dareth-2 nodded in head and Kai-2 shot two arrows past Dareth-2’s face. However, they both sliced his cheeks, one on the left side and one on the right side. Dareth-2 flinched as both of his cheeks started bleeding from their cuts as Kai-2 and Lloyd approached him. 

“As Green ninja,” Kai-2 started, “we are able to manipulate energy to our whim. When it comes to healing, it’s as simple as transferring that energy in a non-violent manner.”

“Alright Lloyd,” Dareth-2 spoke up as he twirled a hand held mirror, “Make sure you don’t hurt this pretty little face of mine.”

“Ignore him.” Kai-2 directed.

“And I don’t know if i’d call that face pretty.” Skylor-2 added.

“Ignored them both, Lloyd.” Kai-2 said as he tried to smile at Skylor-2’s comment.

Kai-2’s left hand started glowing and he pressed it to Dareth-2’s left check. Lloyd observed as the energy from Kai-2’s hand slowly transferred to Dareth-2’s face. 

“You transfer the energy,” Kai-2 said, “and concentrate it into the wound. It’s easier if you”

The energy covered Dareth-2’s left check and the cut glowed before closing up. Kai-2 turned to Lloyd who slowly shifted some of his energy to his hand.

“Take your time.” Kai-2 said.

“You got this.” Skylor-2 encouraged.

Lloyd concentrated as his right hand slowly but surely glowed up. It wasn’t as bright as Kai-2 but it would do. Lloyd found that the hardest part was keeping the energy in his hand, it was as if the energy itself wanted to shoot out and disperse into the world. Lloyd slowly moved his shaking right hand to Dareth-2’s right check. He pressed his hand on Dareth-2 and Kai-2 spoke up.

“Now focus on directing that energy into the cut itself. Think of it as giving out a hug.”

Lloyd Took a deep breath and pushed the energy into the cut. Lloyd seemed to be a little harsh with his delivery judging by Dareth-2’s slightly pained expression. Lloyd slowly watched as his energy started to close up the cut on Dareth-2’s right cheek. The cut sealed up it left a faint scar and Lloyd stepped back. Lloyd looked between his healing work and Kai-2’s healing work.

“Good job Lloyd.” Kai-2 offered.

“Mine left a scar.” Lloyd noted.

“A scar?!” Dareth-2 asked.

“Calm down Dareth.” Skylor-2 demanded.

“It’s fine.” Kai-2 insisted, “It was your first time, you’ll get better at healing. And there’s barely a scar Dareth.”

Dareth-2 quickly examined his face with the mirror and then dropped it with a horrified look on his face.

“My face! It’s, it’s hideous!” Dareth-2 exclaimed. 

“You’re fine Dareth.” Kai-2 insisted. 

Dareth-2 grabbed Kai-2 by the collar and pointed to his now scared cheek, “You call this fine?! It’s an abomination.”

Dareth-2 walked off, genuinely horrified at his ew scar and Kai-2 turned to Lloyd, “Don’t listen to him. You did good, especially for it being your first time.”

Lloyd looked at his glowing hand and asked, “Can you heal everything?”

“No.” Kai-2 bluntly answered, “At least, not that I know of. From what I know, The strongest thing I can heal is small broken bones, like a nose. Small bones, cuts, 1st degree burns, all of those can be healed. Anything worse than that and we’re out of luck.”

“It doesn’t seem that helpful.” Lloyd replied.

“Trust me,” Kai-2 insisted, “when everyone is coming to you to heal every single small injury, you’ll be healing a lot.”

Lloyd smiled, “So what about absorbing energy?”

“Another day.” Kai-2 answered, “For now, we’ve got to focus on finding Ronin.”

Skylor-2 walked up to the two Green ninja as Lloyd walked away, “Good job Lloyd.”

“Thanks.” Lloyd responded before entering the monastery.

“He’s got so much power,” Kai-2 noted, “and potential.”

“Yet he doesn’t see it and constantly undermines himself.” Skylor-2 responded, “Sounds like someone else I know. Both capable, both not realizing it, both just as adorable.”

Kai-2 smiled and hugged Skylor-2, “You seem better.”

Skylor-2 kissed Kai-2’s forehead, “Well, I can’t help find Maya if i’m setting around acting depressed all day”

“Nothing wrong with feeling depressed.” Kai-2 defended as he held onto Skylor-2, “We’ll find her.”

“I hope so.”

“Are you feeling any better?” Cole-2 asked as he looked up from his book.

“It’s just a cold,” Nya-2 replied, “I’m fine.”

Cole-2 went back to reading his book, “A Wrinkle in Time”, before getting anxious, “Are you sure? They say that the flu can hurt the baby.”

“It’s only a runny nose–” Nya-2 warmly grabbed Cole-2’s hand, “– i’m fine.”

Just then, there was a knock on the door and Cole-2 sighed.

“Come in.” Nya-2 shouted.

Jay strolled in and smiled at the couple, “How’s it going?”

“It’s going.” Cole-2 responded.

“Cole’s just worrying about me, as usual.” Nya-2 added, “What brings you here?”

“Have either of you noticed how much time Cole and Zane are spending together?” Jay hesitantly asked.

“I’ve been too busy listening to my Cole rave over how good his book is to notice.” Nya-2 admitted.

Cole-2 held up his copy of “A Wrinkle in Time” and said, “It’s a really good book, not that Nya would know. But no, I haven’t noticed anything, why?”

Jay sat down at a chair and started speaking, “I’m just a little worried about him. Zane–er, our Zane is a sore subject with Cole. You guys gotta remember, our Zane only died a year ago and Cole is still torn up about it. Now he’s hanging with your Zane and I don’t know if he’s mixing up the two or if he’s trying to replace our Zane or whatever it is.”

“Oh,” Cole-2, “I gotta be honest, I don’t know what to say.”

“Maybe you should just try talking to him.” Nya-2 offered.

Jay shook his head, “Cole’s too stubborn to admit when somethings wrong.”

“Doesn’t hurt to try.” Nya-2 insisted.

Jay seemed to be content with that answered but he got up nonetheless.

“Thanks.” Jay said as he walked out of the room.

As soon as the door closed Nya-2 spoke up, “You seem more comfortable around him.”

“Well, it has been over two weeks.” Cole-2 pointed out.

“...When do you think we should tell him?”

Cole-2 turned to his wife, “Never? It’s none of his business, even if he is a doppelganger.”

Nya-2 opened her mouth to speak but then hesitated and closed it. Cole-2 stretched his legs and climbed out of bed.

Cole-2 turned to Nya-2, “I’m getting a snack, do you want any–”

“Watermelon.” Nya-2 interrupted in a slightly desperate manner, “Watermelon please.”

Cole-2 chuckled before leaving the room. He entered the kitchen and immediately heard the alarm system going off. Cole-2 hightailed it out to the map room to see what crime was occurring. He sprinted in but stopped by Kai-2 and Nya.

“It’s just a regular bank robbery.” Kai-2 spoke up, “Cole and Zane are already on it.”

“That fast?” Cole-2 asked, take aback a little.

Nya shrugged, “They were already out when the call came in.” 

“Ok,” Cole-2 replied as he turned towards the door, “well then i’ve got to get some watermelon.”

Zane and Cole landed on the roof of the bank and quickly surveyed the interior of the bank through one of the glass panels. There were about five guys, all in typical black attire, throughout the bank.

“Two of them are guarding the seven hostages,” Cole noted at the men right below them, “which means that three of them must be hacking the accounts.”

“No,” Zane corrected, “look at the cameras. They are all down which implies that the security system is down.”

Zane then pointed at the one robber that was sitting at the main computer, “I believe that he is keeping the system from going off. Luckily, one of the workers managed to set off the silent alarm.”

“Alright, how do we play this?” Cole asked, “We’re obviously gonna take out the two first but then who?”

Zane thought for a second, “You handle the two with the hostages and i’ll subdue the two getting the hard drives.”

Zane crouched and walked to the other side of the roof and slipped in through a vent. Cole waited a few seconds and jumped before slamming into the glass panel. He broke through the glass, fell straight down, and slammed both of the robbers’ heads into the ground. The robber at the main computer jumped up to his feet, shocked at first, before raising his UMP rifle at Cole. Cole stomped on the ground and created a wall of solid earth to protect the hostages.   
Zane silently dropped from the vent onto the floor just in time to see Cole create a wall of earth. Guess the stealthy approach was out of the way. The two robbers, unaware of the Ice ninja, crept out with their weapons at the ready. Zane emerged behind them and froze both robbers solid.

Zane approached the last robber as a chunk of earth knocked his gun from his hands and Cole walked towards the now panicked robber. The robber backed and turned around only to find Zane there, waiting for him.

“Ok, which one of us do you want?” Cole teased.

The robber turned to face Zane’s cold expression and then desperately charged at Cole. The Earth ninja picked the robber with ease and looked at Zane.

“He’s all yours.” Cole offered as he threw the robber at the Ice ninja.

Zane performed a roundhouse kick and sent the robber flying into a wall. Then Cole tied up the robbers while Zane freed the hostages. When the Commissioner came, Cole and Zane debriefed him on the events of the robbery. After dodging the Commissioner's inquiries about Cole not being a ghost, the two ninjas scaled the building and stood back on top of the roof tops.

“Wanna grab some dinner?” Cole asked. 

“Alright, I know a good sushi place.” Zane answered. 

Cole and Zane quickly changed into their civilian clothes, a back jacket and pants for Cole and a white button up shirt and blue jeans for Zane, and made their way to the sushi restaurant. The restaurant was busy but not crowded. It almost looked like a fifties’ diner but with a heavy japanese influence. No one seemed to recognize the two ninja as Cole walked up a head and opened the door for Zane.

“Thank you.” Zane said as he walked through the door. 

Cole and Zane were seated in the corner booth and made their orders. Cole went for the sushi platter while Zane settled for California Rolls. Zane watched with a smirk as Cole dug into his platter.

“What?” Cole asked when he noticed Zane smiling at him.

“It’s a wonder you’re able to keep your physique.” Zane noted.

Cole swallowed his food and responded, “I didn’t know that you were checking me out.”

Zane blushed of embarrassment, “Well I– that’s not what I was implying.”

Cole laughed, “Relax Zane, i’m joking.”

Zane decided to change the subject to avoid his embarrassment, “I apologize if I sound unappreciative but why are you here with me?”

Cole tilted his head, “What do you mean?”

“As much as I enjoy your company, I can’t help why you’re insistent on spending most of your time with me.” Zane pulled out his phone and opened up the calculator app, “I’ve done the calculations and you’ve spent more time with me than your teammates.”

Cole noticed how Zane chose to use his phone for the calculations instead of doing it in his head. Had Zane even tried to explore his mechanical side? And why was Zane pointing their time together? Was Cole being too clingy? He just wanted to hang out with his new friend, and Cole decided to cautiously press further.

Cole pursed his lips, “I remember what it was like to feel lonely when I first became a ghost. I know it’s not the same thing but I guess I didn’t want you to feel so isolated. Besides, is it really such a bad thing to hang out? I can lay off if you want me to.”

Zane shook his head, “No, I like hanging out, I just wanted to ensure that there wasn’t another reason.”

Zane didn’t want to admit it to Cole but he had his suspicions. Cole mentions that he’s feeling guilty over the death of his Zane and then suddenly latches on to Quasiverse Zane? Zane had no doubt that Cole, on some level, did mean what he said about wanting to be friends and help Zane rediscover himself. However, Zane also wondered how much of Cole saw Zane as his own person, and how much of Cole saw this Zane as just an extension of his Zane. Zane decided to put those thoughts aside and just enjoy the rest of the night.

Cole was clearly confused by what Zane said but decided not to press further, “So...how are you feeling about the whole ‘nindroid’ thing?”

Zane looked down at his hands, “I’m getting used to it, though I have yet to explore any of my technical capabilities.”

Cole nodded, “It takes time. My Zane–” Cole halted himself, he didn’t think it’d be the best idea to bring up his Zane, “It just takes time.”

If Zane caught on to Cole’s slip he didn’t say anything, “Would you like to get some dessert?”

“Of course. Hey, do they serve Chocolate cake here?” Cole asked.

Zane stopped looking at the menu and, with a straight face replied, “Chocolate cake is the most disgusting type of food known to Ninjago and I can’t imagine anyone liking it.”

Cole stared at Zane with the most shocked and disgusted face Zane had ever seen. Cole had genuinely started to reconsider his new friendship with this Zane when the Ice ninja broke his facade and started chuckling to himself.

“I’m merely joking Cole.” Zane admitted as he handed Cole a dessert menu.

“That was pure evil Zane.” 

The waiter came over and took their orders and returned with a slice of chocolate cake and a cup of coffee for the two ninja.

“So Cole–” Zane sipped on his coffee, “–why don’t you tell me about yourself?”

“Oh.” Cole said as he’d almost forgotten that he only knew this Zane for two weeks, “Well I don’t know how different I am from your Cole. I think the biggest difference is that i’m not straight, or a ghost, or married to Nya, or plagued with guilt over Jay.”

“I figured.” Zane responded, “It is good to see your Jay behaving like himself.”

“Yeah, Jay is still trying to figure out what happened with his doppleganger, I mean your Jay.”

Zane debated something to himself before speaking up, “Alright, you didn’t receive this information from me but our Jay and Cole had a falling out years ago before and during our conflict with Nadakhan. Jay went over the edge and he hasn’t been the same ever since.”

“...Did Cole-2 hurt Jay-2? Was it his fault?” Cole hesitantly asked.

“Yes.” Zane bluntly answered, “It was a tragic accident but yes it was, and my Cole is still split to the bone over it.”

Zane’s demeanor had taken a noticeable shift and Cole decided not to pry any further. Zane shook himself out of his thoughts and picked up the check that was just handed to them. 

Cole reached over to the checkbook, “I’ll get it, I still owe you for that painting.”

Zane thought it over and responded, “Fair enough.”

After Cole paid, the two men got up and walked out of the diner. They decided to walk back to the monastery but quickly changed their minds after about thirteen miles. After the uber dropped them off, Zane turned to Cole.

“Thank you for tonight, it was rather enjoyable.”

Cole smiled, “Back at you.”

Zane opened the monastery gate for Cole and both ninja walked in to retire for the night.

The next four days were relatively quiet until Julien called the ninja into the map room.

“There are traces of our mysterious energy.” Julien announced as he pointed to highlighted parts of the map, “This the same energy as the bullets that Ronin committed his shootings with. The only solid concentration of it seems to be at an old warehouse.”

“This could lead us straight to him.” Lloyd added, “but we should send in a small scouting group to investigate before we go after him.”

“But Lloyd,” Kai started, “this is the guy who shot Skylor. We need to go in there and take him out now.”

“Lloyd’s right.” Kai-2 spoke up, “Ronin’s not stupid, it’ll be smarter to gain insight on his operations before we strike.”

“I didn’t realize I asked for your opinion.” Kai snapped.

Kai-2’s face hardened before he let out a deep sigh and ignored Kai, “Lloyd and I think that three ninja should be good enough for this mission. Dareth, you’re our stealthiest so you’re going. Who else wants to join?”

“Since when is Dareth stealthy?” Nya asked Cole-2.

“You’d be surprised.” Cole-2 whispered back.

“Nya, you wanna take this one?” Lloyd asked.

“You got it.” Nya answered as she holstered her trident.

“I’ll go.” Skylor-2 answered.

“That makes three.” Garmadon noted, “Zane and I will watch you over the comms while you engage your mission. The rest of the ninja can get back to training.”

Dareth-2 strapped on his clawed gauntlets and waited out in front of the monastery with Nya while Skylor-2 hung back to talk to her husband.

“Just focus on the mission and be careful.” Kai-2 said, “Call me if you see Maya.”

“I’ll be as safe as always.” Skylor-2 responded.

“I’m serious.” Kai-2 insisted, “Whoever this Ronin is, he’ll have no trouble shooting to kill.”

Skylor-2 kissed Kai-2 and responded, “I will, I promise. Love you.”

Skylor-2 walked away as Kai-2 responded, “I love you too.”

When Skylor-2, Nya, and Dareth-2 landed on the roof of the warehouse, the first thing they noticed was the amount of activity in the area. There were several guards throughout the warehouse, way too much for someone who should, in theory, be hiding from the ninja. The guards were dressed in black army attire. The material of the uniforms seemed to be kevlar, bullet resistant. The guards wore black army helmets and black gas masks that had dark purple lenses, completely obstructing the faces from view. The guards had thick dark purple arm braces, knee guards, and iron toed combat books.

“Ok, this clearly isn’t Ronin’s hideout.” Skylor-2 stated.

“But then who are these people, and why do they have Ronin’s energy?” Nya asked.

“I don’t know,” Dareth-2 answered while looking at some nearby trees, “but I know who does.”

Dareth-2 took a deep breath and whistled at the trees. Almost immediately a blue jay bird flew over and landed on Dareth-2’s arm. Nya looked at Skylor-2 who didn’t seem fazed.

“Alright my feathered little friend,” Dareth-2 started, “I need to know how long these masked mercs have been here.”

The bird started chirping and Dareth-2 listened intently. After a few more moments of chirping, Dareth-2 spoke up.

“Yes, you’ve been a very cool ally to the Brown ninja. I’ll see you later my small furry friend.”

Dareth-2 turned to Skylor-2 and Nya, “Alright, it seems that these ten gun wielding black and purple criminals have been here for the past three weeks and are planning something really big. I suggest we’d give them the good ol’ fists of justice.”

“We need one of them awake so we can interrogate them.” Skylor-2 suggested

“Alright, let’s do this quietly.” Nya started, “That means you to Dareth-2.”

Dareth-2 smirked at Nya, “Oh Nya, when I want to be sneaky, i’m as quiet as the mice in Ninjago.”

Dareth-2 walked to the edge of the building, winked at Nya, and backflipped off the edge. He silently landed on the ground and then hid behind some boxes.

Nya turned to Skylor-2, “Is he always this?”

“Nah,” Skylor-2 approached the edge of the building, “he’s usually way worse.”

Nya sighed and followed Skylor-2 as they jumped off the building. Skylor-2 used airjitzu to break her fall while Nya landed into a front roll. Once on the ground, Skylor-2 and Dareth-2 looked into the building and then at each other. Dareth-2 tilted his to the left and Skylor-2 tilted her head to the right.

Skylor-2 turned to Nya and whispered, “Dareth is going to clear out the guys on the left, i’m going right. What do you wanna do?” 

Nya observed as some of the guards walked outside the warehouse, “I’ll take the ones outside the warehouse.”

Skylor-2 nodded at Nya and Dareth-2 and then the three ninja went to work. 

Nya followed three of the guards as they patrolled the perimeter. Nya knew that she had to distract them and used airjitzu to reach the roof. Nya pulled out her trident and watched as the three guards rounded the bottom left corner of the building. Nya dug her trident into the roof and pulled off a sizable chunk. She then chucked the piece of the roof over the side and heard a faint thud against the ground, quiet enough to not be heard inside the building yet loud enough to be heard by the three guards.

“What was that?” One of the guards asked.

“A distraction,” another guard answered, “we need to stay together.”

The three guards stayed huddled together, but were now on alert. Nya sighed in frustration and realized that she’d have to go in loud. Nya waited for the three guards to round the corner of the bottom right corner and attacked when they were out of the windows’ sights. Nya jumped down and threw her trident at one of the guards as she landed on another guard.  
The guard collapsed on the ground as he felt the trident tear into his left shoulder and was knocked unconscious when his head hit the ground. The guards that Nya landed on also fell to the ground, however, it was Nya who grabbed his head and slammed it on the ground to knock him out. The last guard turned around only to get kicked in the diaphragm by Nya who grabbed his head and slammed it against the wall of the warehouse. Nya looked at the three downed guards and then started sneaking into the building.

Dareth-2 climbed onto the dark catwalk and stalked his three guards below him. The warehouse as a whole was relatively dark and seemed to be the site of a packaging and delivery business. The guards split up and Dareth-2 checked on Skylor-2, who was across the warehouse and just finished knocking a guard out. Dareth-2 flexed his clawed metal gauntlets while looking at a guard right below him.  
Dareth-2 dropped down right behind the guard, slashing his back while doing so. Before the guard could cry out in pain, however, Dareth-2 put the guard into a chokehold until he collapsed. Dareth-2 gently put him down and climbed up some scaffolding to get a better advantage.

Skylor-2 snuck up on a guard and slammed the butt end of her sai against his temple repeatedly. It took a little longer to finish him off due to the helmet and while Skylor-2 set the unconscious man on the ground, another guard saw her.

“Hey!” the guard yelled as he pulled out a pistol. 

Skylor-2 threw her sai at the guard, he fired the gun and scraped Skylor-2’s left temple. The sai hit the guard and stabbed the guard in the chest. Skylor-2 knew that stealth was no longer an option as the remaining guards started firing and calling out to each other. She ran over and blasted the stabbed guard across the warehouse with fire, finishing him off. 

Dareth-2 jumped off of the scaffolding as the remaining three guards started attacking. He sprinted up to one guard and slashed at his face, racking the gas mask and helmet off. Dareth-2 then sweeped the guard’s leg and stabbed him in the chest to finish him off.   
Dareth-2 turned around and saw Nya and Skylor-2 taking cover from the last two guards. Dareth-2 ran over and drop kicked one of the guards, who appeared to be the leader, while Nya and Skylor-2 took on the other guard. Skylor-2 fired a ball of fire at the guard and Nya threw her trident straight into his hips, knocking him out.

Dareth-2, Skylor-2, and Nya all gather around the last guard. Skylor-2 formed two fireballs before she started interrogating the last guard.

“Where is Ronin?!”

The guard leader looked at her and responded in a cold and smearing voice, “Hopefully getting more weapons, so he can shoot more of you pathetic ninja.”

So these people were with Ronin. That would explain why they had the same energy.

Nya stepped forward but was held back by Dareth-2 while Skylor continued, “Who are you? And what are you doing in my city?”

“Preparing. But it seems I won’t have the luxury to watch your world crumble.” the guard spat before pulling out a detonator.

Before any of the ninja could react, the guard pressed the detonator and all ten of the guards’ heads exploded. The ninja took cover. The explosions weren’t big, but they did their job as all of the guards were now dead.

“Everyone ok?” Nya asked as she got up.

“Never better.” Skylor-2 replied.

“It’ll take more than a few small bombs to best the brown ninja.” Dareth-2 claimed.

Nya walked over and looked at a broken helmet, “something tells me that this is gonna be a lot more complicated than we thought.”

“How did Ronin get his own evil guards?” Skylor-2 asked as she shifted through some of the remains.

“The man seems to be filled with many mysteries.” Draeth-2 added.

Nya continued sifting through the body of the guard leader and found a partially charred medal. Nya could barely make out the inscription. But when she did, Nya felt her stomach drop and she turned to the others. 

“We need to get back to the base, now.”

“How deep is it?” Kai-2 asked as he examined Skylor-2’s left temple.

He and Skylor-2 were in the map room with Garmadon, Dareth-2, Nya, and Lloyd. They had just finished debriefing the mission and Nya wanted to talk to Lloyd and Kai-2 privately. Kai-2 finished healing up Skylor-2 when Nya spoke up.

“Guys, can you give me, Kai-2, and Lloyd some privacy?”

Everyone cleared out of the room and Kai-2 shut the door.

“What is it Nya?” Lloyd asked, “Did something happen?”

Nya pulled out the charred medal and passed it to Lloyd, “I found this on the guard leader.”

Kai-2 checked out the medal, “It’s a service medal.”

“Yeah, but look at the inscription.” Nya suggested.

“For unwavering service and dedication to…” Lloyd started reading until he got to the last part of the phase. He looked at Nya, “No...that’s impossible.”

Nya shrugged her shoulders, “I don’t know Lloyd. I wish it wasn’t but you know that anything is possible.”

Kai-2 took the medal and read the inscription for himself, “For unwavering service and dedication to...the Legion of Garmadon? Fuck.”

“You guys,” Nya started, “I have a bad feeling about this. But Maya being kidnapped, Skylor being shot, and now this?” Nya pointed at the charred medal, “I’m starting to think that this is a lot bigger than just Ronin.”

Lloyd continued staring at the medal. What was the Legion of Garmadon, and how powerful were they?”


	7. What's Past Is Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ninja fight to capture Ronin while Lloyd makes a theory about the nature of the Quasiverse.

Ronin peered out of the window blinds. He hated this place, this world. There was too much electricity in the air, too much light in the sky, too many ninja in one place. He was on edge, it’d been two days since the ninja attacked his warehouse and while he knew how to cover his tracks, Ronin could only hide for so long. Now Ronin was stuck in a piss poor motel, with only his vehicle, REX, to keep him busy.   
The ringing of his phone pulled Ronin’s attention away from the window as he answered it. 

“Have you been made?” An aggressive yet apathetic voice asked on the other line.

“No, I'm still underground.” Ronin responded.

“Good. Our Lord was concerned that you’d be compromised.”

“Never.” Ronin insisted.

“You’d better not.” The man snarled, “For your sake, you’ll pull no more tricks, i’d hate to have to take another eye.”

Ronin shuddered as he touched his eye patch, a punishment for giving info to his master’s enemies.

“The plan’s failed.” The man started, “The ninja didn’t wipe each other out and now we have to adjust. You’re to remain silent, watch the ninja from a distance and then report their progress. You’re also going to monitor the rift, see if anymore of the ninja’s allies show up. And let me know of any stragglers that happen to find their way to you, it’s been a while since i’ve burned anyone alive.”

Ronin thought back to the look on the old man’s face as he was consumed by the fire, watching as his dog whimpered for him and being helpless to stop it.

“And what if the ninja find me?” Ronin asked.

“You kill them,” the man answered, “but make sure that Dr. Julien doesn’t come into harm’s way. Our Lord thinks that he will be of use to us.”

“Don’t hurt Julien, got it.” Ronin said.

“Good. Now, you should know that you won’t be hearing from me for about a week. I have to go over to the other Ninjago to recruit a certain prisoner. Till then, you’re on your own.”

“Understood.” Ronin offered.

He knew it was a lie though, ronin was never alone. After his previous crimes, he always had eyes on him. If he had to guess, Ronin would say that there are at least ten guards spying on him right now. 

“Good.” The man replied, “Until then Ronin. Don’t fail, your life depends on it.”

The next day

“Why does it always have to be Garmadon?” Jay whined.  
Kai-2, Nya, and Lloyd had just finished telling everyone about the medal and this mysterious Legion of Garmadon. Now everyone was in the map room and the airways filled to the brim with anticipation. It was almost as if the air itself was holding its breath.

“We beat him once,” Cole tried to encourage, “we can do it again.”

Kai-2 turned to Lloyd, “How dangerous is he?” Kai-2 gestured to Garmadon-2, “Our Garmadon is still alive, so that just leaves your Garmadon. How bad can this get?”

“Our Garmadon,–” Lloyd swallowed, “–he took over our city and killed so many people. We barely beat him but we have no idea where he is.”

Garmadon-2 winced, how many people had his doppelganger killed? How much suffering had he inflicted on Lloyd and the other ninja?

“So we find him.” Skylor-2 suggested, “We go to your Ninjago and scour it until we find Garmadon. We get Maya back and we put an end to all of this.”

“First we have to deal with Ronin.” Nya pointed out, “But we have a plan for that.”

Julien held up the charred medallion, “This is radiating the same energy that Ronin and those Legion guards have. I’m going to use this to create an algorithm that will show us where this energy might be in the city.”

Garmadon-2 spoke up, “Until Julien finds something, we are all to remain vigilant. These Legion guards have already taken one warehouse, we have to assume that they have more bases around the city. Ronin might be at one of their locations.”

“Since Ronin has some type of an army with,” Kai-2 started, “Lloyd and I have agreed that everyone is to stay in the monastery until we track Ronin down. If we have to go out, we’ll do so in groups. Any questions?”

No no one said anything and Lloyd spoke up, “Alright then, you’re dismissed.”

Kai-2 turned to Lloyd, “Well, seeing as how we can’t do anything else at the moment, wanna learn how to absorb energy?”

“Sure, let’s go.” Lloyd replied.

Kai-2 and Lloyd walked out to the training center of the monastery. Kai-2 walked about ten feet away and then turned around to face Lloyd. 

Kai-2 opened his hands as if he were catching a ball, “Alright, blast me.”

Lloyd would’ve hesitated but he saw first hand how easily Kai-2 had been able to absorb his energy blasts. He charged up an energy ball and launched it at Kai-2. Kai-2 caught the energy ball and slowly started absorbing.

“You and I are like generators and batteries at the same time.” Kai-2 started, “We can create and store energy. In order to absorb energy, you have to think of yourself as a battery. You also have to let it flow into you.”

Kai-2 finished absorbing Lloyd’s energy and formed his own fiery energy ball, “I’m gonna throw a small amount of energy at you. Try and absorb it but don’t worry if you’re having trouble.”

Lloyd nodded and Kai-2 slowly launched his energy ball at Lloyd. Lloyd caught the energy ball and tried to push the energy into himself.

“Don’t force it,” Kai-2 offered, “Make yourself open. Think of the energy as a part of you, guide it into yourself.”

Lloyd opened himself up but instead of pulling the energy into him, he lit it and found its way. The energy coated his arms and seeped into Lloyd’s body and he felt the energy become a part of him. Lloyd expected to feel different or revitalized, instead he felt a slight tingle as the energy was fully absorbed into his system. Lloyd felt a chill run down his back and Kai-2 chuckled.

“The chill goes away once you’ve absorbed a few times.” Kai-2 said, “Good job Lloyd, you picked up absorbing really fast.”

“Thanks for teaching me.” Lloyd responded, “You’re a good teacher.”

Kai-2 playfully rolled his eyes, “You know you can take a compliment without having to give one back right?”

“Come on,” Lloyd changed the subject, “let’s go inside, i’m freezing out here.”

The next day

“Are you sure you know how to construct pancakes?” Zane asked, “I’d hate for you to make a mess of my breakfast.”

Cole playfully rolled his eyes, “You act like I’ve never touched a stove. If I can bake a cake, I’m pretty sure I can make a few pancakes.” 

Zane wordlessly crossed his arms and nodded towards Cole’s pan. Cole noticed smoke rising from his pan and quickly flipped his pancake over, exposing the black and burnt side of his pancake.

Zane smiled and Cole stared at him, “Not a word.”

Zane started laughing and Cole sighed and started cooking a new pancake. Cole started pouring bater on to the pan and got some on his sleeve. 

“Darn it.” Cole said as he grabbed a paper towel and started wiping the batter off. 

“See?” Zane teased while showing off his pink apron, “This is why it’s important to wear proper kitchen attire when cooking.”

Cole looked at Zane, dressed in black pants, a white shirt, and pink apron, and was flooded with nostalgia. Cole thought of all the memories of him, Zane, and the other ninja. Cole remembers all the times Zane cooked for the ninja, them all eating at the table recounting their recent missions. Cole felt at ease, his brother and him were cooking breakfast and enjoying each other’s company. Cole felt whole again, for the first time in a seemingly forever, he felt like he was complete again.

“Hey, did you have a food fight the first time you cooked for the ninja?” Cole asked, lost in thought.

“Affirmative,” Zane answered, “I got fish thrown into my face. It was quite funny”

“And what about having to dance to win one of the fang blades?” Cole pondered, “I used to think that’d be the worst thing i’d ever have to do.”

“Hardly.” Zane commented.

“Yeah, what about the time we all had evil to team up with Garmadon and Kai attacked him?” Cole laughed.

Zane looked a little troubled but responded, “...Yes.”

Cole, absorbed in his happy thoughts and his trips down memory lane, joyfully asked, “Remember when I found you on Chen’s island and we busted out of there? Oh! Or what about the time we teased Jay because he kept losing to you at chess. And what about the time that you helped me turn on the radio after I became a ghost?”

Silence.

Cole turned to Zane who was quietly staring at the cooking pancakes, clearly uncomfortable. All at once, reality came crashing down on him.

Cole filled up with dread, “Oh god Zane, I–”

Zane shook his head and quietly spoke, “I’m not him, Cole. I’m not your Zane.”

Cole felt like he’d been hit by a truck. Did he really just mix up this Zane with his Zane? Cole felt immense shame and guilt as he took in the lapse in judgment he just had.

Cole looked down, “I know that–”

“Do you?” Zane interrupted, “You are conflating me and him.”

“I know, but it was just a slip up.” Cole insisted.

Zane pursed his lips, “Cole, I understand that you still miss him, and I am more than willing to help you properly cope with Zane’s passing. But you need to understand that i’m my own person.

I’m not just some...thing you can use to live out your fantasies with your Zane.”

“It’s not like that.” Cole offered, “I just, I guess I still miss him more than I realized.”

“I know you do, but i’m not a replacement.”

“Zane please.” Cole felt his eyes go watery.

“Cole, I don’t know if it’s your guilt or your grievance that’s doing this to you,” Zane started, “but you need to resolve these issues. I want to help you, I want to be your friend. But I don’t want to be some doppelganger that you can pretend is your Zane.”

Cole looked away, he didn’t see this Zane as just a replacement, did he? No, He knew that this Zane and his Zane were two different people. Cole couldn’t even begin to tell all the differences between the two Zanes.

“Cole,” Zane said, breaking the earth ninja out of his thoughts, “I’m here if you ever need me for anything, but I think you should figure yourself out, for your own mental health if nothing else.”

Zane turned off the stove and walked out of the kitchen. Cole stood there and leaned into the sink, his hands on the counter to hold himself up. He was contemplating what had just happened until Kai walked up behind him.

“Hey Cole, you good?”

Cole started crying and Kai panicked a little, “Oh shit, you’re crying.”

Kai awkwardly moved over to Cole and hugged him, “What happened, did someone hurt you?”  
“I miss him.” Cole sobbed, “I miss him so much.”

Kai figured that he meant Zane, their Zane, “I know, me too. Come on, let’s go get you cleaned.”

Kai guided Cole into the nearest bathroom and shut the door behind them. Cole sat on the toilet while Kai ran a washcloth under the sink’s hot water. Kai handed the hot damp towel to Cole, who started calming himself down, and leaned against the bathroom door.

“I’m sorry.” Cole started, “Zane, their Zane and I were cooking and I mixed him up with our Zane.”

Kai stayed silent, he didn’t know what to say about Cole’s predicament. None of this was normal, Zane died, only to re-emerge as a new person with a different life. Kai’s doppelganger was the   
green ninja and seemingly perfect, it was a lot to take in.

“Hey, you just fucked up a little, it happens.” 

“That’s not the point.” Cole explained, “I thought that I was starting to get over Zane’s death, but what if i’ve just been mixing up the two Zanes?”

“I know I wasn’t there but I recognise a guilty face when I see one.” Kai said, “Whatever it’s that’s tearing you up inside, you’ve gotta address it. Trust me, I know that it’s a bitch and a half to deal with these issues but take it from someone who pushes his shit deep down, it’s not healthy.”

Cole set the washcloth on the sink, “It just feels like i’m the only one still struggling with this, like i’m the overly sensitive one.”

Kai shrugged his shoulders, “When I was a drug dealer, there were always skirmishes and fights with the gangs and clients. Even before I became a ninja, I was used to death. Lloyd is still having trouble with it, he doesn’t show it but I know him enough to see his tells. Nya and Wu, they just know how to get through things like these. Jay, well I don’t know how Jay’s doing but you get my point.”

Cole cleared his throat, “Thanks Kai, but I just want to be alone right now.”

Kai silently nodded and walked out the bathroom. 

It wasn't until two days later, that Julian pulled Lloyd and Kai-2 into his lab for an update on the energy of the medal. 

“What is it?” Kai-2 asked. 

Julian pulled out some printed results out of his printer in turn to the two Green Ninja, “I'm still working on the algorithm. But while analyzing the energy, I found out something important. I originally thought that the energy was based in biology, but it's not.”  
“Well what is it then?” Lloyd asked.

Julian turned to him, “It's temporal energy. Whatever energy these people are radiating, It has to do with time.”

“So what are they, time travelers?” Kai-2 asked. 

“I can't say for sure.” Julian admitted, “All I know is that these people are from here. They’re from somewhere else, maybe a different realm, maybe a different world. But we still need to figure that out.”

Lloyd shuddered at the thought of the situation they were presented with. An evil version of Ronin attacks Skylar, and then they find this new world, only to find that there is an army of fighters who are loyal to Garmadon. Now there might be a whole other world filled with people like them. 

“Do you think they might come from a third universe?” Lloyd asked. 

“Considering how your world and our world were able to exist without knowing about each other, most likely.” Julien answered.

Lloyd felt sick as he reflected his current situation. He was in a parallel universe in which he never existed. Instead, Kai-2 became the Green Ninja. Now there was this other universe where it seemed like Garmadon held some type of power, powerful enough to have his own legion of warriors. Three different universes and yet, time played into all of this somehow. 

“Is this everything you have?” Kai-2 asked. 

Unfortunately yes.” Julian admitted, “The algorithm is taking a lot longer than I expected.”

That's okay, you're doing your best.” Kai-2 reassured, “I'm going to go check the map room, see if any of these guards or Ronin have popped up yet.” 

As Kai-2 exited the room Lloyd couldn’t help but think about was the Green Ninja attire he was in. Seeing Kai-2’s green gi made Lloyd take a deeper look into everything. Kai-2’s world, the Quasiverse, was a world in which Lloyd had never been born. This world had no Lloyd because Misako had been killed. Lloyd realized that and never that he never did figure out how this world's Misako died.   
Lloyd thought about last year, about the events of his conflict with Kane and Zhang. Could it be that this was on another timeline, instead of another universe? But that wouldn't make sense. Kane said that these universes were supposed to have collapsed. Maybe Kane was wrong, but Lloyd didn't want to jump to conclusions. Still if Lloyd’s theory was right, he needed to confirm it as soon as possible. Lloyd turned to Julian and spoke up. 

“Hey, Julian. I need a favor of you.”  
Julian turned around and looked at Lloyd, “Sure, how can I help you?”

Lloyd hesitated before speaking up, “Can you draw temporal energy out of people?”

Julian formed a confused look on his face, “Yes, though I would need a blood or hair sample for it, but yes.”

“Could you analyze my temporal energy and compare it to the energy on the medal?” Lloyd asked.

Julian raised an eyebrow, “Why?”

Lloyd looked at the old inventor, “I have a theory, but I want to be sure about it before I tell anyone. So can you do it, can you analyze my energy and compare it to the energy of the medal?”

Julian looked as if he was about to speak up but, instead, simply nodded his head in agreement. 

Lloyd reached behind his head, plucked a few hairs, and handed them to Julian. Julian took the hairs in stated that he should have them analyzed in a few days. Lloyd then asked one more thing of Julian. 

“I need you to not tell anybody about this.”

Julian frowned, “No, I can't do that Lloyd. I already told Zane that I wouldn't lie to him anymore.”

Lloyd looked down, a little frustrated, “Julian, I have an idea of what's going on. But I don't want to tell everybody in case I'm wrong. Please, just don't say anything for a few days. And then I promise that i'll tell everybody.” 

Julian clearly didn't want to, to keep this from everybody. And yet he still looked at Lloyd, and agreed. 

“Fine. But if Zane finds out about this. I'm telling him that you forced me.”

“Fair enough.” Lloyd answered as he walked out of the lab room.

Lloyd made his way to Zane’s room, trying to not let his thoughts run wild in the process as he recapped what happened last year. Kane had said that three timelines had been created by destroying fate, A normal timeline, One where Lloyd had never been born, and one where Lloyd lost to the Overlord. What if Lloyd lost to the Overlord and as a result, Garmadon was able to take over in that timeline?  
Lloyd had reached Zane's door before he could finish that thought. Lloyd knocked on the door and after a few seconds, Zane opened up. 

“Greetings Lloyd, how may I be of assistance to you?” Zane asked, inviting Lloyd into his room. 

Lloyd walked in, and once Zane closed the door, He got to his point. 

“Zane, do you know how to analyze temporal energy?”

Zane seemed a little surprised, “Yes, I suppose I can do some tests, but for what reason?”

Lloyd ignored Zane's question and asked, “I was wondering if you could analyze the temporal energy of someone on your team and give me the results?”

Zane stared at Lloyd as if he was trying to read his mind, “Does this have anything to do with Ronin?”

“Maybe,” Lloyd conceited, “which is why I want you to run the tests. But I want to do this secretly so we don't worry the rest of the team.”

Zane sat down at his desk chair and Lloyd continued to explain, “I have a theory about where the Legion of Garmadon is coming from. But if I'm right, then it means that this whole thing is a lot bigger than any of us realized. So, I'm asking you to run a temporal analysis on one of your teammates, without letting them know.”

Zane sighed before looking back at Lloyd, “Lloyd you can't possibly ask me to test on one of my brothers without their knowledge, that's highly unethical. 

“I know it is.” Lloyd admitted, “But I don't want to worry the rest of the team. Look, as soon as I get the results and confirm or deny my theory, then you can tell everybody whatever you wanted, but until then I'm just asking you to keep quiet for however long it takes.”

Zane seemed to be debating Lloyd’s request, “This is highly suspect Lloyd, but I shall honor your request for the time being. Was there anyone in particular you wanted me to examine?”

Lloyd shook his head, “No, it doesn't matter just anyone, any of your ninja should be fine.”   
Boyd walked out of the door and looked back at Zane, “I know that you don't like keeping the secret, so thank you. 

Zane then looked at Lloyd, “How big is this theory of yours?”

Lloyd, didn’t answer. Instead, he closed the door on Zane and walked off. He needed to talk to Nya. Lloyd walked into the lounge room, and found her sitting down and watching Kai, and Jay play video games. 

“Hey Nya Can I talk to you privately?” Lloyd asked. 

Nya nodded and then got up and followed Lloyd into one of the spare rooms of the monastery. 

“Is something wrong Lloyd?” Nya asked. 

“I don’t know.” Lloyd responded, “I was just with Julian and Kia-2 and they told me that the energy from the medal was time energy.”

“Time energy?” Nya asked, “What does that mean?” 

Lloyd looked into Nya’s eyes, “Do you remember last year when we were trying to stop Kane from destroying fate?”

Nya nodded her head in agreement, “How could I forget?”

“Well, do you remember how Kane said she would destroy fate?”

Nya answered, “Kane wanted to create a time paradox.”

Lloyd nodded his head, “Yeah, but she said that the paradox would create three timelines in the process. One normal one, one where I lost to the Overlord, and one where I was never born.”

All at once. It clicked inside of Nya's head, “No, that's not possible. Kane said that those timelines would have collapsed.”

“What if Kane was lying?” Lloyd asked, “What if we’re in the timeline where I was never born right now?”

Nya braced herself against the wall, and processed what Lloyd was suggesting while the Green ninja continued to speak. 

“I asked Julian, and Zane to test the temporal energies from myself, from one of the Quasiverse ninja, and the medal. If I'm right then the energy should be similar but altered and if they're altered–”

“Then that means that the Quasiverse isn’t a different universe,” Nya concluded, “It's an alternate timeline.”

Lloyd grabbed Nya’s hand, “We need to be sure about this Nya. I haven't told anyone else but you because I trust you not to tell the other ninja. If this gets out that the Quasiverse has only existed for a year, we have no idea how Kai-2 and his ninja will react. And if my theory about the three timelines is right, then that means that this evil Ronin and Garmadon might control another timeline on their own.”

Nya pinched her nose, clearly stressed, “So, what do we do Lloyd?”

“Nya, I need you to go back to our Ninjago.” Lloyd started, “I need you to go talk to Kane and get her input on this whole situation.”

Before Nya could respond, Lloyd continued to talk, “I know that you might not want to do this, I know that you don't want to talk to Kane. But we need to know for sure, and Kane is the one who knows the most about how all of this works.”

“...What would you tell the other ninja?” Nya asked.

“I'll tell them the truth,” Lloyd said, “i'll tell them that you're going to our timeline to follow a lead that might help us bring Ronin down.”

“And when would you want me to leave?” Nya pondered.

“As soon as possible.” Lloyd answered. 

Nya sighed, “Will you guys be all right over here without me?”

“We'll be fine,” Lloyd reassured, “we'll be back as soon as possible. We just need to figure out what we're dealing with. I wouldn't be telling you any of this Nya if I didn't trust you to do this.”

“I know,” Nya said, “I know why you're doing this, I just don't like it.”

Nya went silent for a few moments before speaking up again, “I'll go pack my stuff. I'll leave by tonight.”

“Thank you, Nya.” Lloyd offered, “Now we just have to tell the others.”

For the next two hours, Lloyd and Nya sat down all of the other ninja and explained to them why Nya would be going back to the regular timeline. Jay and Kai were the most hesitant about Nya going back but at the end of the day, she wasn't going to be talked down. Cole, almost exposed the real nature of the mission when he asked if both Wu and Nya were looking into Ronin. However, Nya covered her and Lloyd’s tracks by explaining that Wu left before they knew about the guards, the Legion, and the medal.   
Later that night, Lloyd watched as Jay and Kai went to escort Nya back to the Rift. He didn't like not being honest with the other ninja but he also didn't want to worry them in case his theory was wrong. And Lloyd hoped to God that his theory was wrong.

A week later

“I found him!” Julien called out over the intercom, “I know where Ronin is!”

All of the ninja sprinted into the map room and looked at the online map of Ninjago City, which was currently highlighting an in the northern part of the city.

“Where is he?” Kai-2 asked.

“At a Motel 6.” Julien replied, “And if my algorithm’s right, and it is, he’s been there for a while.”

“How do you want to go about this?” Lloyd asked.

“Ronin’s slippery.” Skylor-2 pointed out, “We should box him in.”

“Do we know of any weaponry or supplies that Ronin might have?” Zane asked, “I would be willing to claim that Ronin has some type of getaway plan.”

“So we get some cars and get ready to chase him down.” Kai suggested.

“That’s not a bad idea.” Lloyd admitted, “How many vehicles do you guys have?”

“Two armored vans, one armored car, and four armored motorcycles.” Cole-2 answered.

“What if all of you set up a perimeter and watch for Ronin while Kai-2 and I engage him on foot?” Lloyd asked.

“I would suggest that some of us take an aerial approach in the event that Ronin takes to the skies.” Zane offered.

Garmadon nodded his head, “ So you all will roll up in your vehicles to box Ronin in while Lloyd and Kai-2 try to apprehend Ronin at the motel, sounds good. Alright everyone, figure out who is driving with who and goes bring Ronin in.”

Kai-2 and Lloyd pulled up to the motel in their van. Kai-2 and Lloyd were in Van 1, Cole and Cole-2 were in Van 2, Dareth-2 and Skylor-2 were in the armored car, and Kai was on the motorcycle. Jay and Zane were on the roof of another building

“Alright everyone,” Lloyd whispered into his comms, “Stay vigilant.”

Kai-2 got out of the passenger side and walked into the Motel 6 Complex. The Motel had a garage nearby it and the whole building had chipped blue paint on it. The motel looked run down and scummy, it was completely in touch with the local run down area and probably would draw any attention to itself normally. So why did it have a state of the art security camera watching its front door?  
Lloyd watched as the camera followed Kai-2’s movement and suddenly got a bad feeling in his stomach. Kai-2 walked over to the garage when the garage door was launched from its hinges. Kai-2 dodged out of the way as Ronin drove out of the garage in a red armored van. If Lloyd had to guess, he’d say that Ronin had made some modifications to the REX so it could be a land vehicle as well as an aerial vehicle.   
Kai-2 recovered and sprinted to the van as Ronin took off. The second that Kai-2 sat down, Lloyd took off after Ronin while Kai-2 radioed everyone else. 

“Guys, we made contact with Ronin and he took off. Everyone engage on him now!”

“You ok?” Lloyd asked as he tried to catch up to Ronin.

“Never better.” Kai-2 answered, “Let’s get this bitch so we can find my daughter.”

Ronin weaved in and out of the few cars that happen to be on the road as he tried to escape Kai-2 and Lloyd. Luckily, they were on one of the less popular roads so there weren't too many obstacles in their way. Lloyd floored the gas pedal and his van started slowly but surely gaining on Ronin. Ronin pulled out a rifle and attempted to shoot Lloyd and Kai-2 's van, only to find that it was bulletproof.   
Ronin then cursed to himself, and then decided to cause a distraction for the two Green Ninja. He pressed a button on his panel and activated some of his arsenal. Ronin took aim at two cars ahead of him and fired missiles at them. The cars were hit and crashed into each other before skidding away. One got thrown into the sidewalk while the other remained in the center of the road. Lloyd hesitated, but kept going as Kai-2 called in to everyone. 

“Hey, we have two cars with injured civilians over here. I need someone to go check on them.”

“We got it.” Skylor-2 radioed back.

The response seemed to ease Lloyd as he continued gaining on Ronin.

Skylor-2 and Dareth-2 pulled up to the crash site, in their car, and got out. Skylor-2 went to check on the civilians in the car on the sidewalk while Dareth-2 went to check the people in the car that was in the middle of the street. After they called for the local hospital to send an ambulance. Both ninja got back into the armored car, and took off down the road.   
Lloyd and Kai-2 had gained up on Ronin and were close enough that they were able to get a good shot on him. 

“Keep the car steady!” Kai-2 demanded as he climbed out the window and onto the van’s roof. 

Kai-2 tried to blast Ronin with his green energy, but missed all three shots. Just then the second van that had Cole and Cole-2 came out of an alleyway and slammed into Ronin's van. The three vans were fighting for control on the road and Lloyd's van wound up right behind Ronin. Ronin took the opportunity to slam the brakes on his van, which caused Lloyd to slam into Ronin's van and Kai-2 to be thrown off the roof. As Ronin took off, Kai-2 used airjitzu to land on the roof of Cole’s van. 

“That was way too risky.” Kai-2 muttered to himself as he climbed into the back of the van. 

Cole was driving while Cole-2 was in the passenger seat and making sure that Kai-2 got in safely. Ronin checked in his mirrors and saw that Lloyd was now on his left side, while Cole’s van was right behind him. He knew that if he kept in this position for too long, the others would eventually box him in and he'd be done for. Ronin made a last minute, right turn and slammed his gas pedal as he took off onto the freeway.

“Ronin's turning onto the freeway!” Cole-2 radioed in.

“I'm already on the freeway. I'll try and cut him off.” Kai responded as he flew down the interstate on his motorcycle. 

Kai saw as Ronin had exited the on-ramp and started weaving in and out of traffic with Cole and Lloyd's vans following behind him. Kai used the advantage that his motorcycle provided to easily cut through traffic and get close to Ronin. Meanwhile, Lloyd had played smart and got onto the fast lane. He was steadily increasing his speed, and without any cars to slow him down, Lloyd was starting to surpass Ronin.   
Kai caught up to Ronin's front driver door and tried to open it. Ronin tried to swerve into Kai and barely missed him as Kai pulled forward. Kai then headed for the passenger door to open it. 

“God damn ninja.” Ronin exclaimed as he pulled out his pistol.

Kai saw the pistol, hit his brakes to avoid getting shot, and then tried to grab the back part of the van. However, Ronin pressed a button that resulted in a heavy amount of exhaust being pushed out the back of the van. The smoke filled Kai's lungs and he got onto the fast lane to clear out his breathing. Ronin looked back to make sure that Kai was off of his tail and then turned around to face the front of the road, only to be shocked when he saw that Lloyd was right in front of him trying to cut him off. To make matters worse for Ronin, Cole and Cole-2 had appeared on his right side and Kai was now catching up behind him. With the traffic barrier to his left side Ronin was effectively boxed in. However, Ronin had one more trick up his sleeve as he hit another button.   
Ronin smirked as his van shifted and changed around him until it turned into his regular REX vehicle. All of the ninja looked dumbfounded as Ronin flew his REX and took off into the sky. 

“Guys,” Lloyd spoke up, “Ronin is taking to the skies. Zane, Jay, you're up.”  
Zane and Jane looked at each other and nodded before forming their dragons and taking off into the sky.   
Once Cole-2 had successfully directed Jay and Zane into Ronin's area, they saw REX and picked up speed to bring the evil mercenary down. Ronin saw the two ninja flying behind him and cursed to himself as he started firing missiles behind him. Both Jay and Zane dodged the artillery and then Jay retaliated with a lightning strike from his dragon. Ronin pushed downwards to avoid the lightning strike, and then lifted back up to gain his altitude as Jay pulled ahead of Zane. Jay was about to crash into Ronin when Ronin performed a loop de loop and landed right behind Jay.  
Ronin fired a missile straight at Jay’s dragon and made contact. Jay’s dragon exploded and dissipated leaving Jay to fall out of the sky. 

Zane radioed everyone, “Jay’s down! I repeat, Jay’s down. I'm gonna go after him.”

“No, you won’t,” the voice of Dareth-2 answered back, “I can see Jay, and I'm going to send some feathered friends to rescue the master of lightning. You just focus on taking down Ronin.”

Just then a massive three massive vultures flew up into the sky and grabbed onto Jay’s ninja gi before gently putting him on the side of the freeway.

Skylor-2 looked at Dareth-2, “Sometimes I think your ability to talk to animals goes under appreciated.”

Dearth-2 smirked back at her, “It's only one of the many talents of the master of animal life. Come on, let's go get our injured friend.” 

The vultures gently dropped Jay down on the side of the Interstate and then took off. Skylor-2 and Dareth-2 pulled up and helped a now recovering Jay into their car before taking off again.

Once Zane had confirmed that the vultures were going to take Jay to safety he picked up speed and went after Ronin. When Ronin was in range, Zane started blasting balls of ice at REX. However, Ronin was fast and used the barrel roll and aileron roll to dodge most of his attacks. Zane got in close and decided to take a gamble, he jumped off of his dragon and landed on the back of the REX. Ronin tried his best to shake Zane off but the ice ninja was able to freeze one of the wings. Zane jumped off the REX, and landed on his dragon. The Dragon of ice then shot two powerful ice blasts and tore the left wing clean off the wrecks. As a result, Ronin started to panic as the wrecks started going in circles. He tried his best to land on the street and just barely managed to land on the road.  
Ronin thanked his lucky stars that he managed to land without crashing and pressed the button to transform REX back into his van. Luckily, he hadn't been too banged up. Ronin decided that he needed to get back onto the freeway again in order to make it out of Ninjago city, after that it'd be a lot easier to hide from the ninja. However, before he could exit Main Street, Lloyd pulled up in his van and crashed into Ronin.  
Lloyd rolled down his window and started blasting balls of energy at Ronin who, in return, pulled out his pistol and started firing his pistol. Lloyd drove forward and got in front of Ronin. Lloyd slammed on his brakes in an attempt to slow Ronin down. However, Ronin chose to just slam his foot on the gas pedal and drive straight into Lloyd's vehicle. Lloyd looked back to see Ronin pushing his vehicle with his van as he flew down Main Street.   
Lloyd got out of the front seat and climbed onto the top of the vehicle. Lloyd saw that Ronin was aiming his missiles at his van. Lloyd jumped off of his van before it exploded and landed on the hood of Ronin's van. He barely managed to cling on to the front grill of Ronin’s van and was now at risk of being run over by the mercenary. 

“Guys,” Lloyd radioed in, trying not to sound panicked, “I could really use some help right now! Ronin’s trying to run me down!” 

“I see Ronin and I'm heading straight for you.” Zane answered. 

Ronin looked up and saw the ice dragon heading straight for him. Ronin fired three more of his missiles and managed to get a direct hit on the ice ninja’s dragon. The dragon dissipated as Zane was thrown into a street post before falling on the ground and Ronin pulled ahead.   
Soon, Cole’s van pulled up to the scene, Cole-2 and Kai-2 got out and carried the unconscious Zane into the back of the van. Zane looked banged up and had some cuts that could show the metal underneath his skin. Cole was clearly extremely worried about his friend's safety, but knew he had to focus on the mission. The van took off and headed after Ronin. 

Kai-2 radioed into everyone else, “We just picked up Zane but he's in pretty bad shape. We’re a little bit behind Ronin, else is still there?”

“I'm still in this,” Kai proclaimed, “and I see Ronin.”

“Us too.” Skylor-2 confirmed, “Me and Dareth picked up Jay and right now, we're right behind Kai.”  
Lloyd hated this chase. The grill slowly started to break off of the front of the vehicle, clearly unable to support the green ninja’s weight. Yet every time Lloyd had tried to climb on top on top of the hood, Ronin would just shoot at him with his pistol.  
Skylor-2 and Dareth-2 had managed to pass Kai and were now right behind Ronin's vehicle. 

“All right Dareth,” Skylor-2 started, “We have to get Lloyd first. I'm going to go in front of Ronin and slow him down while you get Lloyd onto our car.”

“Sounds like a good plan,” Dareth-2 confirmed, “Let's go save our blonde boy scout.”

Skylor-2’s plan quickly failed when, as they were passing to the right side of Ronin, he slammed his van directly into their car. This sent Skylor-2, Dareth-2, and Jay crashing into a local grocery store, effectively taking them out of the chase. 

“Skylor-2, Dareth-2, and Jay are out.” Kai radioed in as he saw the crash in front of him, “It's just you and me Cole.” 

“Copy that.” Cole said as he kept going after Ronin.

Lloyd felt the grill breaking on him and knew he had to do something quick. But this whole situation was too stressful for him. The engine was too loud, the car was too hot, and Ronin seemed a little too eager to kill him.   
Wait, Lloyd Lloyd suddenly had an idea. The car is too hot because it's using up too much energy. What if the car didn't have any energy at all?  
Lloyd looked down the side of the car, and saw Kai on his motorcycle and Cole driving the second van. They were closing in on Ronin who was heading to a bridge that was over a drained riverbed.

Lloyd spoke to his comms, “Guys, I have an idea. I'm gonna drain the energy from Ronin's vehicle and slow him down. Cole no matter what happens, you have to ram Ronin as hard as you can so he falls off the bridge.”

“Not until you get to safety–” Cole started.

“We don’t have enough time,” Lloyd interrupted, “just push him off. Kai, I need you to get me out so I don't die.” 

“Fuck me.” Kai muttered as he drew closer to Lloyd.

Cole got closer to Ronin's vehicle and Ronin started turning on his weapon defenses. Lloyd knew that he had to act.

Don't force it, Lloyd thought to himself. Let the energy guidance you, let the energy be a part of you.  
Lloyd put his hands as close to the engine as he could and concentrated. He didn't force the energy to come into him, he just let it coax itself. He let the energy become a part of him. Lloyd felt the energy absorb into him. He could feel the momentum of the van decreasing as it slowed down. 

“What the hell are you doing?!” Ronin cried out as he tried to shoot Lloyd 

But Lloyd still remained focused as he concentrated. Lloyd continued to drain more and more energy out of the motor until it was slow enough that Cole was able to catch up to Ronin as he drove onto the bridge.  
Call rammed into the van full force, causing it to crash into the side of the bridge. The van was halfway hanging off the bridge, with the back of the van hanging off the bridge. The front was slowly giving away and the van about about to fall fifty feet onto the dried out river bedrock.   
Kai showed up at the van crash site and got off his motorcycle to help Lloyd get off the van. The van started teetering off the bridge but before Lloyd could jump off the van, Ronin reached forward and grabbed at Lloyd’s gi. Ronin's grip on Lloyd slipped as he fell but now it was too late, for now the Green Ninja was falling off the bridge.   
Kai panicked and, without much thinking, dove off the bridge and grabbed Lloyd. Then, in the heat at the moment and with the added benefit of adrenaline, Kai used airjitzu at the last second to cushion both of their falls. Kai grabbed Lloyd as they landed and took the brunt of the fall. However, it didn't matter to him as they both were alive. 

“Thanks.” Lloyd said. 

“That was too close.” Kai said as he tried to catch his breath.

“Did using airjitzu really take that much out of you?” Lloyd asked.

“Lloyd,” Kai muttered in between his breaths, “It's been over a year since I've used any of my powers. Give me a fucking break.”

Lloyd back off as Cole-2, Kai-2, and Jay all used airjitzu to safely get to the bedrock. 

“You two okay?” Kai-2 asked.

“We’re fine.” Lloyd said before radioing in to the rest of the group, “Guys, we got him, we got Ronin. The rest of you head back to the monastery to get your injuries checked out.”

“Where's Zane?” Kai asked.

“Zane is still up in the van,” Cole-2 explained, “Cole’s watching over him.”

The four ninja were interrupted as they heard movement from the wreck of Ronin's van. Cole-2, Kai-2, Kai, and Lloyd cautiously approached the van, only to find that Ronin was trying to crawl away from them with a broken leg. Kai-2 was the first to act as he kicked Ronin in the face and then turned him over so he could see the ninja.

“You have a lot of explaining to do.” Kai-2 started as he punched Ronin in the face. 

Ronin spit blood out of his mouth as Kai-2 grabbed him by the collar, “Where is my daughter?!” 

Ronin took a second to collect himself and responded by spitting blood into Kai-2’s face. Kai-2 wiped the blood off his face and then punched Ronin in the face, breaking his nose in the process. 

“Tell me! Or I'll tie you to the back of my van and drag you across the city.” Kai-2 threatened. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Cole-2 said at Kai-2’s threat, “Let's not be so hasty now.”

Lloyd laid his hand on Kai-2’s shoulder, “Cole-2’s right, maybe you should let me do the interrogating.”

Kai-2 barely heard the other ninjas speaking as he shrugged Lloyd’s hand off his shoulder and hit Ronin again. 

“Tell me now!” Kai-2 demanded.

“I'm not telling you a goddamn thing!” Ronin asserted.

Kai-2's expression hardened, “Fine.”

Kai-2 put his hand over Ronin's face. Suddenly Ronin started feeling weak and he felt like he couldn't breathe. Ronin started gasping for air and felt like he was slowly dissolving into nothingness. Ronin looked up to Kai-2’s expressionless face and felt as if he was seconds from death. He desperately tried to claw at Kai-2 but found himself too weak to even lift his arms.

“Kai!” Cole-2 yelled at Kai-2.

Lloyd ran over and pushed Kai-2 to the ground, breaking his concentration. 

“Were you, were you absorbing his energy?!” Lloyd asked with shock and disgust.

Kai-2 recovered and looked at Lloyd, “Don't push me.”

Cole-2 stepped in front of Kai-2, “What the hell is wrong with you man? I thought you said you wouldn't do that ever again.”

Kai-2 looked a little guilty but yelled back, “He has my fucking daughter.”

“I think he deserves it.” Kai hesitantly spoke up, “He doesn't get to shoot Skylor and get away with it.”

Lloyd glared at Kai and then looked at Kai-2 in horror. It never occurred to him that he could drain the energy out of people. Lloyd wondered how it felt. Was it painful, or painless? Was it slow or fast?   
Judging by Ronin's expressions, it seemed like having the energy sucked out of you was a slow and painful way to go. 

Kai-2 walked up to Ronin and got on a knee, “If you don't want me to drain all of the energy out of your body, Start talking now.”

Ronin looked at Kai-2 with fear in his eyes but not saying anything. 

“Okay,” Kai-2 said as he started draining the energy from Ronin again.

Ronin knew that if he started talking it would be a death sentence for him. And yet, he never wanted to feel that feeling of helplessness, that Kai-2 just inflicted on him. He felt like he was losing himself in that feeling was worse than any torture that he could be given. Plus, maybe if he started talking. These ninja would grant him some sort of amnesty. 

“Okay! Okay fine, I'll tell you.” Ronin suddenly blurted out.

Kai-2 got up, ignoring the glare that Lloyd was giving him.

“Where is Maya?” Kai-2 asked again. 

“I don't know.” Ronin admitted. 

“Bullshit!” Kai-2 accused.

“It's not!” Ronin insisted, “I–I kidnapped Maya. But I gave her to my boss. I have no idea where she is.”

“You gave my daughter away?!” Kai-2 questioned before he blasted Ronin a few feet back with an energy ball. 

Kai-2 felt the energy surging through his body and he started to give into his anger. He started walking over to Ronin, only to be stopped by Lloyd.

“What are you doing?”Lloyd asked, “I know that you want to find your daughter. But we're not going to find her if you kill Ronin.”

Kai-2 looked at Lloyd and then cursed to himself. He turned over to Ronin and spoke up. 

“Tell me what you know, before I kill you myself.”

“They don't tell me much.” Ronin started. 

“What do you know?” Kai asked.

Ronin sighed, “I know that my boss is going to kidnap Cyrus Borg. And I know that he has some type of a contingency plan involving the prison.”

“Cyrus Borg?” Lloyd asked.

“The prison?” Cole-2 pondered. 

“The prison.” Ronin confirmed, “It's how I got into this world. There's a rift in there. I don't know what he's planning with Cyrus Borg but–”

Ronin's confession was interrupted, however, as two shots rang out. Suddenly, two bullet holes were appearing in Ronin's chest and he started bleeding out.   
The Ninja are to cover behind the wreckage of Ronin's van and Cole-2 conjured up some Earth walls to provide extra cover from whoever was firing at them.   
Kai saw a weird grenade Ronin and called out, “Get down!”

However, an explosion didn't come. Instead, a cloud of smoke overtook the area as the smoke grenade detonated. When the smoke cleared Ronin was gone and there were fresh footsteps in the bedrock. 

“Where the hell is he?” Kai-2 asked. 

“He got away.” Lloyd said somberly. 

Kai-2 finally processed what had just happened and looked at his trembling hands. Kai-2 felt sick as he dropped down to his knees and threw up. Cole-2 rushed over and comforted Kai-2

“I’m sorry, I–I don’t know what happened.” Kai-2 choked.

“Hey, you’re just trying to find Maya.” Cole-2 explained, “Just don’t do it again.”

Lloyd looked at his hands, suddenly fearful of how dangerous absorbing energy could be.

Kai looked at the spot where Ronin had been and noticed that there were extra footprints. What if Ronin hadn’t gotten away? What if he had been kidnapped instead?

The next day

“How long will he be shut down?” Cole asked Julien

Julien turned to Cole and the rest of the ninja, “Until I can finish all of his repairs.”

Zane laid on the metallic table, motionless and turned off. Skylor-2 touched Zane’s right arm and felt the  
cut up skin.

“Is this...real skin?” Skylor-2 asked.

Julien nodded, “It’s artificial but yes, it’s real. I made Zane so that he was as close to human as he wanted to be.”

“If only he knew he was a nindroid.” Jay muttered.

Julien winced at that but continued examining the ice ninja. Cole-2 poke Zane’s cut up skin before lifting it to expose the metal underneath.

“It’s weird to see him like this.” Cole-2 started, “I know he’s an android but he almost seems human.”

“He IS human,”Cole asserted.

“I didn’t mean it like that.” Cole-2 corrected himself.

Nya-2, who was sitting next to Cole-2, spoke up, “He’s still our brother, even if he has more wiring than we thought.”

“You’re right.” Kai-2 added, “This doesn’t change anything.”

Dareth-2 then put his two cents in, “It doesn’t matter if you’re a ghost, or a nindroid, or a doppelganger, or–” Dareth-2 gestured to himself, “the sexiest man alive, we’re all ninja. And we’re all in this together.”

“Yeah, we know that.” Cole noted, “The problem is that Zane doesn’t.”

The ninja remained quiet until Lloyd spoke up.

“Ronin told us that whoever he works for is going to try to kidnap Cyrus Borg and has plans for the Quasiverse prison.”

“Do they want your Cyrus Borg,” Nya-2 asked, “or ours?”

“We don’t know,” Kai-2 answered, “Either way, we’ll be ready.”

Three days later

“You should get some sleep.” Julien told Cole.

“Not until he’s awake.” Cole groggily answered.

“Hmm.” Julien muttered, “you really care about him huh?”

Before Cole could answer, the Rift alarm went off. 

Lloyd walked into the map room where Kai-2 and Kai had already had the video of the Warehouse rift playing. The video showed the rift glowing and then stopping when something popped out of it. The thing wasn’t a thing at all, but a girl. A metallic girl who fell onto the warehouse floor.

“Pixal?” Lloyd pondered.

“Who’s Pixal?” Kai-2 asked.

“A friend.” Kai answered, “We should go get her.”

“Can she be trusted?” Kai-2 asked.

“More than you can.” Kai replied.

Kai-2 ignored Kai’s comment, “Then let’s go get her.”

“Maybe you should stay here.” Lloyd suggested.

Kai-2 arched an eyebrow, “Why?” 

Lloyd didn’t want to admit it but ever since he’d seen Kai-2 almost kill Ronin, he’d wanted to keep his distance. Lloyd had a sneaking suspicion that Kai-2 wasn’t as stable as he believed he was.

“Pixal knows us.” Lloyd responded, “I don’t want to take any risks.”

“Uh Lloyd,” Kai started, “Pixal’s not moving.”

Lloyd had looked back to the monitor and saw that Kai was right. Pixal was in the exact same position she’d been in when she dropped out of the rift. 

“Something’s wrong.” Lloyd said to Kai, “let’s go.”

Kai-2 sat and watched as Kai and Lloyd took off.

About ten minutes later, Kai and Lloyd landed at the Warehouse. They wasted no time as they sprinted to the rift. Sure enough, there was Pixal, still in the same position. She was in bad shape, Pixal’s right eye was cracked and there was a sword driven through her chest, cutting straight into her power source. Her left arm was bent in an odd angle and had burn marks. 

“Oh fuck.” Kai said as he sat Pixal up.

Suddenly, Pixal awoke and looked at Kai, “Kai? Is that you?”

Lloyd came over and looked at Pixal, “What happened?” 

“Someone attacked our prison, kidnapped a prisoner, did this to me.” Pixal weakly muttered, “I need to shut myself down so I can run a proper diagnostic and assess what repairs I need.”

“Wait.” Kai said, “Who did this to you.”

Pixal had already started to power herself down but managed to whisper, “He looked just like you Kai.”

With that, Pixal shutdown and Kai gently set her down.

“Pixal got attacked by someone who looked just like me?” Kai asked, “Come on Lloyd, I think we need to go ask Kai-2 some questions.”


	8. Trouble on the Homefront

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We take a look at what Misako, Skylor, Pixal, and Ronin have been up too in the original Ninjago while the ninja have been in the quasiverse.

“Can you fix her?” Lloyd asked as he crossed his arms.

“Simply fascinating.” Julien thought out loud as he examined Pixal’s body, “This android is clearly based on Zane, but is somehow improved.”

“Can. You. Fix. Her?” Lloyd asked again. 

Julian looked at Lloyd, “I should be able to, if her body’s as close to Zane’s, as I suspected it is.”

I'll finish repairing then and then we'll start working on your friend.

Lloyd let out a deep breath, “What about the temporal energy that I asked you to analyze. 

“I'll finish after I get these two repaired.” Julien responded, “They come first.”

“I agree.” Lloyd started before looking at Pixal, “Who did this to you Pixal? What happened to you while we were gone?”

Then

“Come on Skylor,” Pixal encouraged, “Only a few more minutes.”

Skylor tried to hold her heavy breathing to herself as she continued to walk on the treadmill. Right next to her was Pixal, holding a stopwatch and recording her time. Masako was on Skylor's left and was watching her vitals.

“I hate this so much.” Skylor said between her heavy breaths. 

She was the fire ninja for fuck’s sake, and now she was having trouble walking.

“Skylor, the bullet went through your stomach and missed your spine by a few inches.” Masako explained, “And it's been less than a week since the incident. You're lucky that you're even walking this quickly.” 

Less than a week, Skylor thought to herself. It’d only been three days since the other ninja left into the Rift. Pixal had mentioned something about them finding doppelgangers, but Skylor was too delirious under the pain medications to understand it all. 

“I am going to kill black mask when I find him.” Skylor muttered to herself. 

“Relax Skylor,” Misako said, “You're stressing yourself out and it's not gonna make any of this easier.”

“One more minute Skylor. Pixal announced as she looked at her stopwatch. 

Skylor looked at the distance counter on the treadmill and died on the inside a little, she was barely able to walk five miles without dying. Pixal and Misako had explained why she was so injured in such a short amount of time. Apparently the bullet almost hit her spine. And the combination of the bullet, her slamming into the side of the building, and then falling onto the sidewalk had done a deal to her nerve cells. She'd still eventually retain the ability to walk and run, she just had to build up to it first. 

“Thirty seconds.” Pixal announced. 

Skylor gripped the arm bars on the treadmill and was practically holding herself up with her arms when Pixal called time.

“All right, you're done for today.” Misako announced as she turned off the treadmill.

Skylor took a second to catch herself as her legs briefly failed on her and she almost fell onto the treadmill. Pixal helped her off of the treadmill. Skylor, aided by Masako and Pixal, slowly made her way out of the exercise room, went to the bathroom, and started in the bathtub. Skylor, once again, reminded herself of how the first thing she would do once she was back in shape was take a proper shower instead of lying in her own dirty bathwater.   
As Pixal slowly lowered her into the bath, Skylor thought about how much she owed Pixal for helping her recover. Really, Skylor owed Pixal, Misako, and Ronin a thank you. But that would come later when she could walk without dying again.

Misako went back to the medical room to review Skylor's progress. She opened up Skylor’s medical file and examined it like she always did.

“All things considered, she's doing really well.” Pixal said as she walked in.

“Still, I don't want her pushing herself too hard.” Misako countered, “She can barely walk five miles, this is going to take time.” 

“I am aware of this.” Pixal insisted, “However, previous exchanges with Skylor have shown that the more you disagree with her on something she is passionate about, the harder she will continue to push herself with the goal of being proven right. In order to ensure that Skylor takes the proper time to recover we have to guide her in setting her pace, not force it upon her.” 

Misako sighed and continued going over Skylor’s files. Skylor had to know on some level that this isn’t a test of her will or resolve right? She must know that getting shot with a sniper rifle is almost always a death sentence. 

“It’s about proving her wrong or right.” Misako asserted, “It’s about Skylor almost dying and not allowing herself enough time to recover properly.”

Pixal looked back at Misako, “For the sole purpose of playing Devil’s advocate, let us examine these events through Skylor’s perspective. Skylor has been working for the past year to establish herself as the Fire ninja, this is most likely the reason for her insistence on defeating Black Mask. Skylor also believes that she has to constantly prove her worth. My hypothesis is that Skylor is trying to get better as fast as she can in order to track down Black Mask and take him out before the ninja arrive, thus leaving her mark on the Fire ninja legacy.”

“It'll be pretty hard to reach that goal if Skylor dies over exerting herself.” Misako muttered before asking “Where's Ronin?” 

“If he's following his schedule punctually, he should be back from his patrol at any moment now.” Pixal answered. 

With the ninja gone, it was now up to Pixal Misako, Ronan and Skylor to watch over Ninjago city. However, with Skylor being out of the count and Misako being her primary caregiver, that role came down to just Ronan and Pixal.   
They agreed to take shifts patrolling the city in order to make sure that each other got the proper rest needed. Luckily nothing too big had happened. The war between the Pioneers and Taskmasters was simmering down at the moment and it seemed that Skylor taking out Black Mask’s main operations had forced him and his taskmasters into hiding. Now, with no one to oppose them, the Pioneers were gathering strength. But that was a problem for another day. For now, Pixal was more than happy to let the Pioneers take in their small victories even if it meant bigger problems in the long run. But if another crisis happened right now, there's no way that she and Ronin alone would be able to face it.   
Maybe that's why Skylor was pushing herself so hard. Pixal thought about when she was just an A.I. program in Zane’s head. She couldn't do anything but sit and watch as the events played out as the rest of the Ninja had to struggle and do all the hard work. Pixal hated feeling useless and seeing as how Skylor was barely getting used to walking again, Pixal was sure that Skylor was feeling more like a burden, then a contributing member of the team.  
Pixal’s thoughts were interrupted by the entrance of Ronan, who was clearly tired if his shambling had anything to indicate by. 

“Anything big happen?” Pixal asked the mercenary. 

“Nah,” Ronin responded, “A few punks tried to rob an ATM, but they're all sitting in a prison cell now. Other than that, for once Ninjago is actually being peaceful. Maybe maybe the city’s aware that her protectors are here for her.” 

“I am sure that the ninja will return shortly.” Pixal insisted, “We just have to hold out until then.” 

“Yeah? Well, I'm gonna go get some shuteye.” Rona responded before leaving the room. 

“What about you?” Masako suddenly spoke up. 

“Me? What about me?” How are you doing? Pixal asked. 

Misako replied, “I know that Skylor is taking up our priorities but I want to know how you were doing. I know that you're still dealing with…” 

Misakoe didn't finish the sentence and she didn't have to either. Pixal knew exactly what she was talking about. 

“I would rather not converse about him if that is alright with you.” Pixal answered. 

“Pixal, you can’t keep holding it in.” Masako said. “I don't even know how to begin to understand what you're going through, Pixal, I really don't. But if you don't find closure with Zane’s death I fear that you might…” 

“I said I'm fine.” Pixal interrupted. 

Misako hesitated before speaking up, “I think we both know that you're not. When my parents died I reflected back on their whole lives, learning everything I could about them, all the good and all the bad. I found that it really helped. I don't know Pixal, I just...I don't want you to lose yourself.” 

Misako finished up with her file and left the medical room, leaving Pixal to her own devices. Deep down, Pixal knew that what Masako was saying was logical. She had to continue living even if her fiance wasn't, but could pixal really be that selfish? Could she just continue with her life without Zane? Analytically Pixal knew that it wasn't selfish to want to move on yet her circuits were frying at the thought of the idea Just because she moved on it doesn't mean that she would forget Zane or think any less of him.   
Pixal thought back to the night of the shooting. If she had just been there with Skylor, been there to watch her back, maybe things could have turned out differently. Skylor had told Pixal that it wasn't her fault and Pixal knew that it wasn't her fault, but that wasn't the point. The point was that Skylor had reached out to Pixal for help and she just ignored her. All this time, Skylor had been wondering if she was a burden on the team. But maybe she was mistaken, maybe Pixal was the burden. No, Pixal shook her head out of those thoughts quickly. With all the accomplishments that she's made with the other ninja there's no way that that could have been true. She wasn't a burden, she was just hurting.   
Maybe, maybe Misako did have a point. Maybe by reflecting over Zane’s life Misako could feel some type of closure. Maybe she could finally learn to live with his death. Pixal walked into Zane's room and checked the clock. She still had two hours until her shifts started. Pixal hesitantly accessed her memory logs and played Zane’s entire life, starting with her first meeting with the Ice ninja. 

As the hours turned into days and the days turned into weeks, Pixal kept going through Zane’s life. All the good or the bad, the victories, the losses, the hardships, all of it. About two weeks had passed when Pixal decided that she was ready.  
Under the cover of night, she climbed into her jetpack and flew to the abandoned subway station. When she got there, Pixal sat down and pulled out the box of tapes and her engagement ring and made her way back to the monastery. Pixal walked into Zane’s room, still clean from how much Pixal had been cleaning it ever since he passed away a year ago. Pixal sat in the desk and went over all the tapes one last time. Then she grabbed the engagement ring and examined it.   
Then, with a heavy heart, Pixal took the box of tapes in the ring and locked it in a foot locker. She turned around to scope one last look in Zane's room and shut the door.   
As Pixal walked away to her own room, she could feel her heart aching, telling her to go back. But she knew that unless she took the first steps, she would never improve or get better. So Pixal kept walking, no matter how hard it was. 

The next day Pixal got a notification. Apparently there was a drug deal going down between the Taskmasters and some common criminals. Pixal suited up, but before she could leave the monastery, Skylor came jogging after her. 

“Wait up.” Skylor said, “I wanna go.”

Pixal turned to her friend. While Skylor had made remarkable progress in the last two weeks, she was by no means by back to her normal state. A combination of Masako and Pixal’s medical knowledge, Ronin's training techniques, and healing tea had sped up her recovery. Still, Pixal was a little nervous about letting her back into combat. 

“I'm not taking you Skylor.” Pixal decided.

“Why not? It's just a small drug dealer.” Skylor argued, “Besides, I need the practice. The Ninja are gone and you and Ronin can only watch this city on your own for so long.” 

Pixal didn’t answer, for she knew that Skylor had been right. Still, she didn't want to risk her friend over nothing, not when she was just getting over her past injuries. 

“Skylor it’s too risky.” Pixal insisted. 

“How am I supposed to get better if I'm not allowed to push myself?” Skylor challenged, “Come on, I'll just shadow you and i’ll stay out of your way. Please, I want to do something other than stay here all day and I know the most about Black Mask and the taskmasters, so you'll need me, if things go sideways.”

Pixal rolled her eyes and decided against her better judgment, “Fine. But you stay behind me and you stick to the shadows.”

Skylor smiled with joy as she climbed onto Pixal’s Samurai suit. And then, the two heroines took off into the sky.

Skylor and Pixal landed on a roof of a first story building near the drug deal, in the alleyway, and scoped out the participants.

“Three Taskmasters and four common thugs.” Pixal counted as she turned to Skylor, “Two of the Taskmasters have AK-12 rifles and all three of the thugs have semi automatic .45 pistols. I will engage them and you will stay here. DO NOT interfere unless I am somehow compromised.”

“But–” Skylor started.

“But nothing.” Pixal interrupted, “You are still too…”

“Weak?” Skylor guessed.

“Hurt.” Pixal corrected, “If something goes wrong, I am unsure that I can protect you and stop the drug deal at the same time. You need to stay here for it is the best option for both of us.”

“Fine.” Skylor answered.

Pixal nodded and then jumped off the roof. While falling, Pixal launched seven different knives, each aimed at a weapon. The seven men were caught off guard as their weapons were cast aside. Pixal landed on one Taskmaster and used her momentum to throw him in a wall, rendering him unconscious. Pixal stood up and threw a knife into another Taskmaster and started engaging the other men. 

Skylor watched as Pixal took out one thug, and then another. Half of the group was already down and Pixal looked as if she was going to clean house. Still, Skylor was to test her skill, see if she was making progress.   
Skylor looked over the edge of the roof and felt a tinge of vertigo. The last time Skylor had been on a roof was when she got shot. A bullet wound was something Skylor could handle, but falling wasn’t. A bullet wound can be healed or fixed, but if Skylor fell high enough, she was done. The memory of being completely helpless as gravity pulled her to the ground, knowing that the only reason Skylor hadn’t died on impact was that Nya was there, it was still burned into the back of Skylor’s mind.   
Skylor shook herself out of her thoughts and jumped down. She used airjitzu to safely land and found herself already being slightly short of breath. Skylor landed on the ground and felt a slight tingle on her back. As Skylor stopped to catch her breath, she started to think that Pixal might’ve been right about not being ready.  
Before Skylor could reflect on her decisions too long, one of the thugs saw her and charged. Skylor panicked and barely dodge backwards to avoid the thug’s swing. The thug lurched forward and Skylor threw a sloppy right hook. The thug blocked and then landed a left cross in Skylor’s nose. Skylor fell backwards and caught herself against the alleyway wall. She could feel her nose burn and her eyes water. Skylor waited for the thug to attack her and then kicked the side of his knee. The kick was weak though, and the thug didn’t go down all the way, instead Skylor tackled the thug and slammed his head into the wall. Thug fell down and, with one last bout of effort, Skylor kicked the thug in the head, knocking him out.  
Skylor fell down and leaned against the alley wall, trying to catch her breath. Her break was short lived, however, as another thug came running at her. Skylor got on a knee and started charging up her fire balls. When the thug got close enough, Skylor blasted the thug back and took him out.   
Skylor fell back and passed out, over exerted from the fight and the use of her powers.

The first thing that Skylor noticed when she woke up was the change of clothes. Skylor was once again in the medical room, in her hospital gown. Skylor then noticed Misako, sitting next to her with her arms crossed and her lips pursed. 

“Do you have any idea how stupidly you acted?” Misako calmly asked, hiding back her frustration.

Skylor didn’t answer.

“Well,” Misako started, “let me explain. You got shot, almost crippled, and almost killed. I had to spend hours taking out every single bone fragment. We are barely two weeks into recovery and you are only walking this soon because of the healing tea. You can barely run, can barely fight, should not be using your powers, and definitely should not be getting into fights or going on patrol. And then you, in your infinite wisdom, decided to ignore my suggestions and throw yourselves at criminals for no logical reason. Why?!”

“Pixal said–” Skylor started.

“Oh Pixal and I had a long conversation.” Misako countered, “She was just as reckless as you were.”

“I need to get back out there.” Skylor snapped, “Pixal and Ronin can’t keep their patrol up forever and I can’t get better if i’m fucking coddled here.”

“So what's the plan then Skylor? Throw yourself at danger and get yourself killed?” Misako pondered. 

“I can’t just sit here.” Skylor insisted, “I need to get back out there. Black Mask is staying quiet now but I know he’s gonna strike soon. Ronin and Pixal are gonna need me.”

“Black Mask can wait, you have to recover before you can do anything.” Misako insisted.

“Is that it?” Skylor asked, “Am I supposed to just sit here and be useless?”

Misako calmed herself, “You’re not useless Skylor. You’re just as important as anyone else here.” 

“Really?” Skylor asked softly, “Is that why Kai’s gonna be the fire ninja?”

“Is that really what all this is about?”

“Yes!” Skylor admitted, “I thought that I was a part of this team because I was valued. But i’m not, I was just a placeholder for Kai. They’re all gonna come back and see how weak I am and then they’re going to abandon me, just like dad.”

Skylor realized what she said and then turned to face away from Misako. Misako got up and sat on Skylor’s bed. Then she took Skylor’s hand and spoke up in a quiet and compassionate tone.

“Hey, we aren’t gonna leave you, but you do have to rest. It’s not that you’re weak, it’s that your body experienced a lot of trauma that shouldn’t have. I know you’re worried about being the Fire ninja but you don’t have to be. You could forge your own path, create your own identity. You’re important and we need you Skylor, and I care about you. That’s why I want you to get better the right way.”

Skylor swallowed, “Can you–I just need some space right now.”

Misako nodded and then walked out of the door. Skylor looked up at the ceiling, she felt her emotions in turmoil. Yet Skylor didn’t want to, so instead she focused on her nemesis, Black Mask.   
Black Mask took over the Taskmasters when Zhang died and turned it into the largest and most efficient drug operation in Ninjago City. His drug was a hallucinogenic drug that caused the user to manifest whatever stressors they had, Black Mask marketed it as a way to deal with personal problems and the drug became popular among the lower and working classes.   
The problem was that some of the Taskmasters broke off and formed the Pioneers, a group dedicated to upholding Zhang’s goal of ruling the Squalors with an iron fist.   
The Taskmasters and Pioneers are in a cold war, both trying to gain the more people, the better weapons, and the bigger territory. They had to be stopped because, at this point, a war between the Taskmasters and Pioneers would tear apart Ninjago City.  
Skylor had dealt a heavy blow to Black Mask by taking out his base. This only halted the inevitable war between the Taskmasters and Pioneers.   
All this fighting over a drug that shows your stressors, Skylor thought it was all bullshit. 

While Skylor was going over her last encounter with Black Mask, Misako burst into the room

“Skylor, come quick. Wu has returned.”

“It’s good to see you.” Misako announced.

“And it is good to see all of you.” Wu replied, “How are you doing Skylor?”

Skylor stood up and walked to Wu, “I’m getting better sensei.”

“Good, good.” Wu started, “Well, as much as I enjoy the light mood, I must tell all you what I and the other ninja have found out. Let us head inside”

Once everyone was in the lounge room, Wu informed them of everything he knew. He told them of the quasiverse, the dopplegangers, and the mysterious shooter. He did not, however, tell them of the evil Ronin. That had been his mission after all, come back and see if this Ronin was the same Ronin that attacked Skylor and stole Maya.   
By the time Wu had finished explaining most everything, answered some questions, and dodged others, the afternoon had given way to the dark nighttime sky. Misako decided that Skylor was clear to leave the medbay and Pixal had gone out on her patrol. Ronin was outside practicing nighttime shooting. 

The next day, Wu observed with caution as Ronin was lightly sparring with Skylor. Skylor was getting tired but tried not to show it as she went after Ronin. 

“Don’t rush into it.” Ronin advised as he dodged Skylor’s attack, “you’ve got to feel the fight, know when to attack and when to defend.”

As Wu watched, Ronin instructed Skylor on her timing and wondered if Ronin who was training her could also have shot her in the first place. Misako had confirmed that Ronin had been with them for most of the time and Wu trusted her judgment. Still, Wu had to be sure.  
Later that night, Wu decided to follow Ronin back to his home. Every time Ronin made a turn on his route home Wu half expected the mercenary to stay towards an undisclosed location. Yet, he remained on his path until Ronin arrived at his shop.

Wu landed on a roof and watched as Ronin walked up to his shop door and unlocked the front door. 

“You wanna come in? Or are you just gonna keep staring at me from the roof?” Ronin suddenly asked, peering up at Wu.

Wu knew that he was made and hoped down to greet Ronin, “I believe we need to have a discussion Ronin.”

“About what, you stalking me?” Ronin asked as he held open the door for Wu.

Wu accepted the offer and walked to the shop. Wu felt at ease despite his admittedly low suspicion of Ronin. The mercenary was skilled and capable. Yet he, like the ninja, could never surpass Wu in terms of experience. Ronin started boiling water for tea and turned to Wu.

“So what do you think I did?” Ronin asked, “You’ve been eyeing me ever since you got back. Whatever you’re going to accuse me of, I probably didn’t do it, unless it was shooting someone.” 

Wu decided that there was no use lying to Ronin and came clean.

“We found Skylor’s shooter, it was a Ronin.” Wu explained, “But the Quasiverse Ronin was dead, and that just left you.”

“Hmmm…so you and the ninja thought that I wanted to kill Skylor and you decided that the best way to deal with this was to stalk me and hope I would just slip up?” Ronin started, “You know I respect you, Wu, but that wasn’t your smartest moment. However, I assure you that I haven’t shot any ninja recently, or at all now that I think of it.”

“Even as it were, I still would like to keep an eye on you.” Wu stated.

Ronin rolled his eyes and smirked, “Fine, you babysit me until the ninja solve this mystery and I'll show you that I've been here the whole time.”

“Deal.” Wu agreed.

After more than a week, Nya returned.

She elaborated more and the events that had played out. The guards, Ronin disappearing, his warnings of Cyrus Borg and a prison contingency. Obviously Nya didn’t tell them about Lloyd’s theory, she needed to keep that to herself before saying anything to anyone else. That meant waiting for Lloyd to finish his tests and Nya talking to Kane.

And so, Nya flew to the prison the next morning. She landed at the gate and requested access to Elizabeth Kane. Nya was escorted to solitary confinement and requested to be left alone. Being the Water ninja, the guards trusted her and were more than happy to take a small break. Nya walked until she found herself in Kane's cell. She faced the iron door of the cell, it being the only thing separating her from Zane’s murderer. What would Nya find when she opened the door? A restless soul, driven mad by her actions and never finding peace or a broken woman, haunted by her regrets and her loss? Nya didn’t know which one she wanted.  
Nya decided that she had stalled enough. So she took a deep breath, opened the iron door, and walked into the dark and damp cell. Laying down on the side of the small bed was Kane, she had greying hair, a thinning figure, and a tired look. Her eyes were sullen, yet they still carried the same knowing look behind them, the same intelligence that had caused Nya and the other ninja so much trouble. 

“Kane.” Nya called out.

“You’re here sooner than I expected,” Kane responded with a melancholy tone, “what do you want?”

“What do you mean expected?” Nya harshly asked, “Why would ever think we’d waste our time with you?”

Kane gave Nya a once over and replied, “you’re here, aren’t you? But that’s not the point. The point is that I've been expecting you because I was told that you’d be coming to see me, not you necessarily but one of the ninja.”

Nya frowned, the only people who should’ve known that Nya was coming to see Kane were Nya and Lloyd. But Kane said that any of the ninja were coming, Nya knew that she had to keep pushing in order to find out.

“Who told you? And what else do they know?”

Kane stood up and strolled around the room, “I don’t know who he is, but he’s constantly visiting me, telling me about you ninja. 

“Why is this person visiting you?” Nya pondered

“He said he has plans for me, for all of Ninjago, and he said that he’d come get me soon.” Kane elaborated.

“Who has plans.” Nya asked, “what are they?”

“I don’t know.” Kane admitted, “But he tells me stories of other worlds, worlds where events played out differently, where my family is still alive.”

“You mean other timelines?” Nya challenged, “Timelines you created.”

Kane nodded, “I suspected as much. He mentioned that his “Lord” was grateful that I brought him and his world into existence.”

Nya pinched her nose, “But you said that they’d collapse.”

Kane remained silent and turned away. But Nya could still see the look on Kane’s face, it was the classic sign of guilt.”

“You didn’t even know, did you?” Nya interrogated, “You don’t care that you might’ve made two other timelines? Of course you don’t, all you care about is yourself.”

“That’s not true.” Kane snapped, “I didn’t think the timelines would hold, I didn’t expect them to flourish.”

“And now, we might have a threat bigger than anything we’ve ever dealt with.” Nya noted, “This is your fault.”

Kane processed what Nya and sat back down on her bed before letting out a chuckle.

Nya stared at Kane, trying her hardest not to punch the prisoner, and asked, “What’s so funny?”

“All of this.” Kane gestured at everything, “I created these new timelines and put ours at risk, destroyed fate, and broke our universe for nothing.”

“What do you mean nothing?” Nya demanded to know.

Kane stopped laughing and at Nya puzzled, “Nothing I did mattered, Lloyd told me so when he arrested me. It’s all pointless.”

Kane watched as Nya grew more confused and put two and two together, “Lloyd never told you, of course he didn’t.”

“What didn’t Lloyd tell me?” Nya coldly asked.

Kane looked up at the water ninja, “Fate never determined who won the battle between good and evil, it just sets up the conflict. Or it did before I destroyed it.”

“What’s your point?” Nya asked.

“My family died during the battle between Lloyd and the Overlord, the battle between good and evil. Fate wasn’t working then, so it couldn’t have killed them.”

Kane let out a little chuckle and a sob at the same time, “Everything I did was to destroy fate and it didn’t even matter. All the people I stole from and hurt, it was for nothing.”

“Zane…” Nya muttered, “he died nothing?”

Nya almost fell down. How could Kane be so stupid, she planned for everything and some how didn’t realize that the whole thing was pointless? The cause that had been so important that Zane was murdered so it was useless. Nya could accept that Zane died for a cause, but pointlessly, needlessly? Zane deserved better than that.  
And what about Lloyd? Kane told Nya that he knew the futility of her plan when he arrested her, but that was over a year ago. When was he going to tell them about Zane? Was he planning on telling them, or did he just decide that the ninja didn’t deserve to know that Zane died a pointless death. 

“I’m guessing you didn’t know,” Kane mused, interrupting Nya’s thoughts, “Guess Lloyd didn’t trust you guys enough to tell you.”

Nya looked at Kane with red in her eyes and malice in her heart. She could kill Kane right now, instead she got up and walked out of the cell, slamming the door on her way out. 

Nya’s mind was racing as she made her way through the cells. How could Lloyd not tell them the truth about Kane’s plan? Who was he to decide that they didn’t get to understand the pointlessness of Zane’s death? What would she tell Pixal?

Nya was so distracted that she didn’t see the prisoner until she slammed right into him. 

“Oof.” the prisoner exclaimed as he fell to the ground.

“Oh god, sorry.” Nya offered as she helped pull the prisoner up.

The prisoner looked nice enough. He had dark skin and strength matted black hair. His browns widened as if he knew the Water ninja.

“Nya?” the prisoner asked.

“Uh...yeah?” Nya responded.

“Oh wow.” the prisoner said as he shook Nya’s hand, “I can’t believe it’s really you, Kai’s told me so much about you.”

“You know him?” Nya asked.

“Yeah, I’m his friend. My name’s Dick.” the prisoner elaborated.

“Oh, right.” Nya recalled, “You’re the one Kai was teaching to fight. It’s good to meet you.”

Dick beamed at Nya’s response, “Good to meet you too.”

“...So, you're Kai’s only friend in here?”

“Yeah, unless you count his cell.” Dick gestured to a cell, “That one’s his.”

Nya walked over to the cell and peered into it. It was as normal as any other cell, except for the writing on the wall. Nya expected there to be tally marks counting the days that Kai was stuck in here. Instead there was a small and simple phrase scratched in.

“Survive for her.”

“Survive for her?” Nya repeated before turning back to Dick, “What does that mean?”

Dick looked at the writing on the wall and his lips formed into a sad frown, “It meant survive for you Nya.”

Nya raised an eyebrow, “Me?”

“Yeah.” Dick explained, “About a week after he was sentenced here, Kai took a beating, pretty bad. Guards picked him up and threw him in his cell. He cried a little and then etched that in.”

“A beating?” Nya repeated, “Why didn’t he fight back?”

“He wanted the good behavior, couldn’t get it if he fought back.” Dick answered, “I don’t even think that’s why he cried though.”

Only a week in? Nya looked back at the cell and thought about the position Kai was in. Kai had just learned that Zane died, he had his past come back and completely upend his life. He had given up his identity as the Fire ninja and while he was one to suggest it, Kai had been effectively replaced. Then he was thrown into a prison full of people who would probably do unspeakable things to him given the chance. All this, and then to receive a beating and be completely helpless? No wonder he broke.  
Nya couldn’t help but wonder how many nights Kai had lied awake, staring at that phrase. How often was it the only thing that kept him going?   
Kai had always acted so tough that sometimes Nya forgot how vulnerable he could be. Nya found herself blinking back her watery eyes as Dick spoke up.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t help him more. There’s only so much I could do, but still.”

Nya hugged Dick, “You were there for him. That’s more than enough, thank you. Thank you so much.”

Just then, two guards walked in and approached Dick, “All right, time to get back in the cell.”

“It was nice to finally meet you.” Dick said as he was escorted away.

“You too!” Nya yelled back as Dick rounded the corner of the building. 

Nya reflected on what she had just learned but quickly pushed those thoughts aside. She had gotten her answer, the timelines were possible. Now it was up to Lloyd to confirm them. Nya also needed to confront Lloyd about knowing that Zane’s death was pointless.   
Nya thought about going back to the Quasiverse but decided that she was needed more here. Now that Wu had cleared Ronin, they, Nya, Misako, Pixal, and Skylor could continue to watch the city for the time being.   
With her mind filled with various thoughts and feelings, Nya conjured her dragon and took to the skies.

Now

Zane gasped as he woke up. He instinctively took a deep breath and tried to get his bearings.

“Hey, it’s ok. It’s ok.” A soothing yet gruff voice called out.

Zane didn’t know why but he found the voice comforting and it made him feel happy. After a few seconds, it registered to Zane that he was listening to Cole.

“I’m right here.” Cole assured Zane as he calmed down.

“We had to shut you down for repairs for a bit.” Julien spoke up from the other side of the room.

Zane suddenly hugged Cole. 

Cole hugged Zane back and said, “Hey, everything’s ok. What’s the matter?”

“It was awful, I didn’t feel anything.” Zane explained in a panicked voice, “It was as if I was dead.”

Zane would’ve thought that being shut down would’ve been similar to being asleep, it was so much worse. It was forced, and he was helpless to stop it. Zane knew that his father and Cole would only shut him down for good reason but that didn’t mean it didn’t feel like he was being drugged. He had no idea of what had happened to him or where he was. And the idea that anyone could just shut him down like that, it shook Zane to his core.

“ Don’t worry Zane.” Cole started as he comforted the ice ninja, “I’m right here.”

“What if someone figured out how to shut me down?!” Zane asked, “I’d be helpless. They could do whatever they wanted to me.”

“Hey.” Cole looked into Zane’s eyes, “I won’t let that happen, ok? I promise.”

Zane finally calmed down and let go of Cole. Zane took a second to feel himself out and slowly stood up from the workbench. Zane scanned the workshop and saw Pixal’s body.

“What is that?” Zane asked as he approached the samurai.

“Who is that,” Cole corrected, “Her name is Pixal and she is a nindroid like you, just without the human skin.”

“She really is fascinating.” Julien exclaimed as he started fixing Pixal’s cracked right eye, “She’s based on a model very similar to yours, just more advanced. Obviously you’re the cutting edge in technology but she is something special.”

Zane glared at Julien and Cole asked, “Did you really just say that?”

Julien looked back at Zane, “No, that’s not what I meant son.”

Zane looked back at Julien, “Can you give us some space?” 

Julien nodded and then hung his head lower as he left the workshop. Cole turned to Zane.

“You know he didn’t mean it–”

“How long until she, Pixal, is awake.” Zane interrupted.

Cole made the choice not to press Zane further and answered, “I don’t know. But you should know that she was engaged to my Zane, so it’ll be a little weird when she sees you.”

“Hmmp.” Zane offered.

“Zane, i’m sorry about what happened before.” Cole started, “I know I messed up and I’m really sorry about that.”

Zane turned to Cole, “I don’t you to be sorry, Cole, I just need you to see me as my own person. I need you to know that i’m not just a replacement for your Zane.”

“I know, I know.” Cole insisted, “I made a mistake and I’m not gonna lie, I’m not over my Zane’s death. I still feel guilty about not being honest with him about my identity. But I also see you as a friend, not because you have his face, but because you’re cool and confident and smart and kind and too many other things to list. Please, I still want to be friends and I promise it won’t happen again.”

Zane studied Cole’s facial expression and knew that he was being honest. If Zane was being truthful with himself, he wanted to be friends with Cole. He made Zane feel comfortable, made him smile, and made him feel wanted, as a friend of course. 

“Of course we’re still friends.” Zane responded to Cole’s delight, “I want to help you Cole, but I don't want to be around you if you can’t see me as my own person, I am already struggling with that myself.”

Cole nodded his head, “Fair enough.”

Zane expressed a small smile and then looked over the deactivated Pixal, “What do you think happened to her?”

Then

The alarms blared throughout the monastery as Nya sprinted into the map room. Wu, Misako, Pixal, Ronin, and Skylor were watching as two different map locations were highlighted, the Borg Industries tower and Kryptarium Prison.

“These are both being hit as we speak.” Pixal explained.

Pixal pulled up cameras from the tower and Prison, showing Legion guards attacking the security of both sides. 

“It’s the Legion.” Nya called out, “These are the people that were working with Ronin in the Quasiverse, what are they doing here?”

“Nothing good.” Wu guessed, “We have to stop them.”

“Ronin, Wu, and Skylor, you go stop these guards at Cyrus Borg’s tower.” Pixal declared, “Nya, Misako, and I will go to the prison.”

Misako turned to Nya, “Is there anything we should know about these guards?”

“They have explosives in their heads that’ll blow up if they’re captured.” Nya explained, “other than that, they don’t seem to have much training.”

“Doesn’t mean they can’t shoot us.” Ronin noted

“Come on, we need to go stop these attacks.” Pixal said as she led the others outside.

Wu, Ronin, and Skylor climbed aboard the REX and took off to the Borg Tower. Nya formed her dragon and invited Misako on while Pixal climbed into her Samurai X mech suit.

Pixal expected the Prison to be chaotic and she wasn’t disappointed. The prison was surrounded by the police who seemed to be trying to contain the prisoners. Oh yeah, the prisoners had escaped their cells and were now trying to escape the Prison itself.   
Misako, Nya, and Pixal landed and were approached by the Commissioner.

“Unknown assailants have attacked the Prison and Borg Tower at the same time.” 

“We know, Commissioner.” Nya explained, “We have people going to Borg Tower but right now, we need to get into that prison.”

“I figured.” The Commissioner acknowledged, “I have a task force waiting to support you.”

“Thanks.” Nya said as she approached the font door of the prison.

Nya, Pixal, Misako, and the task force ran into the prison and shut the front doors behind them.

“Ok,” Nya started, “Misako, you and the task force will circle the building while Pixal and I head to solitary confinement, I think that’s where they’ll be heading.”

“How do you know?” Misako asked.

“No time to explain!” Nya yelled out as she and Pixal took off down the hallway. 

Nya knew that they were going after Kane, she had said as much herself. Whatever the legion was planning, there was no way it could be good. 

“Nya, what are they going after?” Pixal asked.

“A prisoner I think.” Nya answered as they continued running.

The two women rounded a corner and ran straight into a guard. But before the guard could fire his rifle at Nya and Pixal, he was tackled by a prisoner with straight matted black hair.

Pixal ran over and took out the guard while Nya checked on the prisoner.

“Dick?” Nya asked.

“Oh thank god you’re here.” Dick exclaimed, “these guys let all of the prisoners out and are killing anyone who gets in their way!”

Nya refocused herself, “Dick, i’m glad you’re ok, but you need to get somewhere safe.”

“Wait, I know where they’re going!” Dick stated, “They’re going to Solitary Confinement.”

“We are aware, but appreciate your assistance all the same.” Pixal explained.

“Pixal, meet Dick. Dick, meet Pixal.” Nya quickly said.

Nya started to think before making a suggestion, “Pixal you take Dick to safety while I go to Solitary Confinement.”

“No.” Pixal denied, “You would be running into unknown danger with no back-up, I will not allow it.”

“Pixal, now’s not the time to argue.” Nya insisted, “Just get Dick back to safety.”

Pixal gripped Nya’s right arm, “What is it Nya? What aren’t you telling me?”

Nya broke Pixal’s grip and said, “I promise i’ll explain later, but I need you to trust me right now.”

Nya turned around and left Pixal and Dick behind as she made her way to Solitary Confinement. Nya met minimal resistance along the way, taking out what little guards and prisoners had revealed themselves to her. It made Nya uneasy, where was everyone?  
Nya finally burst in the Solitary Confinement section and was immediately surrounded by at least ten guards, all armed and all aiming their weapons at her.Out of Kane’s cell walked a prisoner with a black hood over her head, most likely Kane, and two more guards. Then a man dressed in a deep dark red gi walked out of the cell. He had two twin katanas strapped to his back and tilted his head as he took in the sight of Nya.

“Ah the Water ninja.” The Man spoke with a voice modifier, “It seems that your reputation precedes you. Next time I'll accommodate for the dumbass that you clearly are.”

The Man nodded to one of the guards, who took aim and shot Nya in the right leg. Nya collapsed onto the ground as she felt the pain set in. 

Two of the guards forcibly escorted Kane out of Solitary Confinement, followed closely by the man. However, before leaving, the Man turned to the guards to give them orders.

“Show the Water ninja what it means to experience pain, then lock her in one of the cells.”

The Man then turned around and walked as the guards holstered their weapons. Nya forced herself up and readied her trident as she prepared to fight the ten guards.   
Pixal and Dick rounded the corner, only to find that the front doors were guarded by countless guards. Pixal and Dick immediately backed up and ran away from the front door as some of the guards followed them.

“In here!” Dick called out as he guided Pixal into the cafeteria.

Pixal and Dick ran into the cafeteria and found themselves in an even worse situation. In front of them were two guards, a mysterious prisoner with a black hood cloaking their identity, and a man in a dark deep red gi.

“Well what do we have here?” The Man asked with malice in his voice.

“Dick, you need to get out of here.” Pixal cried out.

Dick turned to run out the cafeteria doors but was stopped when the Man threw his left katana into the wall, nearly decapitating Dick. Dick fell to the floor in shock and the Man spoke to his guards.

“Go. Take the prisoner out of this hell hole, these two fuckers are mine.”

The two guards took the prisoner and exited the cafeteria threw the doors away from Dick and Pixal.

The Man looked at Pixal, “Let’s get this over with.” 

The Man then formed and threw two fireballs at Pixal, completely catching her off guard. Pixal was blasted back and barely landed when the man closed the distance. The Man let out a stream of fire that coated Pixal’s left arm, searing it with burn marks.   
Pixal threw a knife at the man, giving her enough time to get up and form her stance. She then charged the Man, who seemed indifferent to her attacks. Pixal pulled out a knife and swung at the man, who dodged it and then elbowed Pixal in the face. Pixal reeled back but was blasted onto the ground before she could recover.   
The Man dashed over and grabbed Pixal’s left arm, repeatedly kicking and hitting it until the arm was bent out of place. At this point, Pixal had turned out her pain receptors but still felt her left arm become useless. The Man then grabbed Pixal and lifted her up. He then proceeded to repeatedly headbutt Pixal, cracking her right eye before dropping her to the floor. The Man looked over a defeated Pixal when he was attacked from behind.  
Dick hit the Man with a right hook. However, the man seemed unaffected by the punch as he turned to face Dick who was forming a stance. Dick charged in and threw a left elbow and a right hook. The Man blocked both and then hit Dick with a left uppercut, sending him straight to the floor. Dick slowly recovered and got up while the Man addressed him.

“Oh, I recognize that technique. Hmm...I wonder, why, of all people in this wretched city, would the Fire ninja take you as his protege. Tell me, what makes you so special?”

“I’m not afraid of you.” Dick timidly declared.

“Dick, no!” Pixal exclaimed as she tried to get up. 

“Oh this would be so much fun–” The Man mused to himself. 

Dick charged at the Man who, in one swift move, took out his sword and sliced off both of Dick’s legs.

“–Unfortunately,” The Man continued over Dick’s screams of agony, “I have a mission to complete.”

The Man holstered his katana and walked towards Dick, lighting two balls of fire in the process.

“Stay away from him!” Pixal pleaded as she managed to get on her knees.

However, the Man ignored her and focused on Dick, “You fought well. Know that you die with honor, which is more than can be said for most.”

With that, the Man lit Dick ablaze, embracing the screams of pain as Dick succumbed to the fire.

“NO!” Pixal yelled as she charged at the Man.

The Man caught Pixal and pushed her against the wall. Pixal struggled against the man and managed to pull off his mask. Pixal saw the face and froze with shock.

“Kai?”

The Man, Kai, took the opportunity to stab Pixal right through her power source. The man threw Pixal to the side and left the cafeteria without another word. Pixal looked at Dick’s now burnt corpse and started feeling her power go wary. Pixal tried to reach anyone over the comms, but no one responded. Pixal figured that that had to mean that Nya, Wu, Skylor, Ronin, and Misako were also in trouble. Pixal had to go get the ninja.   
Pixal called in the Samurai Mech to her. It crashed through the cafeteria roof ad Pixal could barely get herself onto it. Pixal thought about removing the sword from chest, but it’d be just as bad as taking the knife out of a stab wound.  
Pixal rocketed to the rift as fast as she could and had to essentially launch herself through the rift due to her rapidly declining ability to remain coherent. Pixal landed on the hard warehouse floor and waited...and waited...and waited. Eventually, Pixal heard two voices approaching her and recognized them as Lloyd and Kai.

“Oh fuck.” Kai said as he sat Pixal up. 

Pixal awoke and looked at Kai, “Kai? Is that you?”

Lloyd came over and looked at Pixal, “What happened?”

“Someone attacked our prison, kidnapped a prisoner, did this to me.” Pixal weakly muttered, “I need to shut myself down so I can run a proper diagnostic and assess what repairs I need.”

“Wait.” Kai said, “Who did this to you.”

Pixal had already started to power herself down but managed to whisper, “He looked just like you Kai.”

With that, Pixal shutdown and Kai gently set her down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy holidays everyone!


	9. Return to the original timeline

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ninja return to the original Ninjago to help deal with the aftermath of the prison and Cyrus Borg attacks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy new years everyone! We did it, we beat 2020!

Ronin woke up with a start. He sat up and felt as if he was about to cough out a lung. Ronin felt like he was taking his first breaths, harsh and cold. He sat up and observed the dark room, noting all the guards that surrounded him.

“You failed.” A voice called out from the shadows.

Ronin stared off into the direction of the voice as Kai stepped out of the shadows. He had newly made katanas strapped to his back and could barely be seen in the dark with his dark red gi.

“You snitched on us, told the ninja of our plans for Borg and the prison contingency.” Kai spat, “You betrayed everyone in your timeline, and for what? Because the Green ninja exposed you to a little pain, a little fear. That was enough for you to condemn yourself to death?”

Ronin looked down, “Why am I not dead?”

“Because,” Kai started as walked closer to Ronin, “our lord has graciously decided that you were worth more to him alive than dead. And despite the treason you’ve committed, I am more than happy to abide by his will.”

Ronin’s spirits were crushed at that announcement. Kai was Garmadon’s right hand man, the best and most capable of the ninja. He earned that title through true commitment to the Legion’s ideals, which included no mercy. Ronin knew that if Kai couldn’t kill him, he’d make him wish he weren’t dead.

“Here’s what's gonna happen,” Kai started, “You’re going to go back home and you’re going to experience true pain, true fear. Whatever the Green ninja did to break you, i’m going to ensure that you’re begging to go through that when we’re done with you. Then you're going to return to my side and help me complete my mission. If at any point you fail to met my expectations, i'll kill you myself.”

Kai then turned to one of the guards, “Take him away.”

Ronin was silently pulled away outside of the abandoned building and into a car with the guards. Kai watched as the car pulled away and then used airjitzu to scale the nearby building, until he was high enough to see across the Quasiverse Ninjago city. Kai looked out to the city and recapped his orders.  
Kidnap Cyrus Borg and find a way to travel across the timelines at will. Right now, there was only one way to travel from timeline to timeline, the rifts. At the moment, Kai knew about most of the six rifts in existence. Each timeline had two rifts, one that was connected to the other two timelines. The problem was that when the ninja would inevitably find out about these rifts, they’d barricade them and that would upend Kai’s plans.  
Kai needed a way to create more rifts to all three of the timelines. However, there was only one person smart enough to do that, Dr. Julien. Seeing as the only Julien still alive was the quasiverse Julien, Kai would either have to kidnap him or manipulate him into building it for him.  
Cyrus Borg was needed for the same reason Kane was needed, to create a means of asserting Legion control on everything.  
Kai had to play this just right, these ninja were pathetic but surprisingly capable. They managed to sway Ronin to commit treason and stop Cyrus Borg from being kidnapped a week ago. This was going to take time, luckily, Kai had plenty of that. Garmadon knew that Kai was capable of getting his job done when he was given full control on how to run his missions. So on top of being the second most powerful person and important in his timeline, Kai had access to his Legion and could use it in any way he deemed fit, so long as it was for the good of his timeline and in the name of his Lord.  
However, Kai also had more...personal goals. He had spent the last year studying these ninja, assessing their few strengths and noting their many weaknesses. He’d learn of their Kai, his hardships and struggles. Always putting on a front of aggression and arrogance to hide his insecurities. He had a certain respect for the original Kai, sacrificing his morals for his sister, selling drugs for food. Not many would be willing to break themselves for another person.  
The reaction of Nya had made Kai’s blood boil. Instead of thanking the original Kai for ensuring her survival as a child, she advocated for his sentencing to prison. This...Water ninja truly thought she had the right to look down at the man who had raised her and spit in his face, what a bitch.  
But Nya wasn’t the point, the point was that the original Kai had been shit on all his life for trying to secure the necessary resources for him and his sister. Maybe it was because he and the original Kai shared the same face, but Kai knew potential when he saw it. If he could convince the original Kai to join his side, the two of them would be unstoppable.  
The original Kai was already weak, both in terms of mentality and physicality. He couldn’t conjure his powers, he couldn’t muster his fire, he couldn’t even hold the title of the Fire ninja. And now this broken and self-loathing Kai had to see the Green ninja Kai, looked at the living idea of what he deemed to be his perfect self, It was too perfect. All Kai had to do was make a good case and the original Kai would be his.  
Kai thought about all that could happen in the coming weeks or months. Recruiting the original Kai, servicing his master, brings the ninja to their knees.  
Kai smiled as he leaped off of the building. He was going to enjoy what comes next, very much so.

The next day

Pixal opened her eyes as she felt her circuits and body awaken. Pixal didn’t even have to check her diagnostic test to know that she had been fixed up. But who fixed her?

“Pixal? Can you hear me?” a voice called out.

Lloyd, Pixal told herself, that was Lloyd’s voice. Pixal fully powered herself up and opened her eyes. Lloyd, Kai, and Jay were surrounding her. They all appeared to be in a workshop and Pixal was on a worktable. 

“Pixal, you’re alive!” Jay exclaimed as he hugged the Samurai.

Pixal hugged Jay back, “Barely.”

Kai looked at Pixal, “Pix, you said that the guy who attacked you looked like me, what was he wearing?”

Pixal ran through her memory and then responded, “He did not just look like you, Kai. He was you, a doppleganger. His attire was a burgundy colored gi and had wielded two katanas.”

“See?” Lloyd said to Kai, “I told you it wasn’t Kai-2.”

“Well then who was it?” Kai pondered.

“Kai-2?” Pixal asked as she stood up from the table.

“That’s what we call our doppelgangers.'' Jay explained, “And we call their world the Quasiverse. I came up with that name.”

“That’s where we are Pixal.” Lloyd started, “We’re in the Quasiverse and there’s some people who’d like to meet you. But Pixal, I need you to know...they have a Zane.”

“What?” Pixal tried to process everything she was hearing.

“Their Zane is still alive,” Jay further elaborated, “but he’s different. He still has his human look and he just found out that he’s a nindroid, i’m pretty sure he’s gay. And he hangs out with Cole a lot.”

“But how–”

“Also, Garmadon and Dr. Julien are alive, Julien’s the one who patched you up and Garadon is a good guy.” Jay interrupted, “And their Dareth is a ninja, their Cole’s a ghost and married to Nya, who’s pregnant, and straight. Their Kai’s the Green ninja and married to Skylor and they have a daughter together. Their Wu’s dead, and their Jay....” Jay slowed for once and finished, “I don’t know what happened to their Jay.”

Pixal replayed what Jay said in her mind several before finally processing what he said. 

“Are they here?” Pixal asked.

“Julien, Kai-2, and Zane are outside the door.” Lloyd confirmed, “We wanted to tell you before letting them in, Cole’s with them to.”

“I appreciate that.” Pixal noted, “I’m ready to see them.”

Kia walked over to the door and opened it, “You can come in now.”

Cole strolled in and embraced Pixal in a hug, “I’m so glad you’re ok. It’s been too long Pix. We have so many brunches to catch up on.”

“Agreed.” Pixal replied as Cole pulled away from her.

Julien walked to Pixal and offered his hand, “It’s very nice to meet you Pixal. And might I say, I've never done such advanced programming in my life.”

With the exception of her ninja, Pixal felt the least comfortable looking at Julien. After all, the original Julien had passed on before she met any of them. Pixal shook his hand and responded.

“The pleasure is all mine. You have my thanks for fixing me up.”

“It was the least I could do.” Julien responded as he made way for Kai-2

“Welcome to our home Pixal.” Kai-2 offered with a smile, “I hope you’re feeling better.”

Pixal looked at Kai and then at Kai-2. Despite them being dopplegangers, Pixal felt like their looks might be the only similarity between the two of them. 

“Thank you.” Pixal answered, “Your hospitality is more than appreciated.”

Pixal then turned around and came face to face with Zane.

“Greetings Pixal, it’s nice to meet you.” Zane expressed.

Pixal stared at Zane, not knowing what to do or say. She had just made a breakthrough in accepting Zane’s death and now he was here, this doppelganger who looked exactly like her fiance.

“Um, greetings.” Pixal started before she realized that she was instinctively reaching for Zane’s face.

Pixal quickly pulled her hand down and looked away from Zane, “My apologies. This isn’t...this is all a little uncanny.”

Zane flashed a small smile, “I understand, Cole has informed me of your situation. I apologize if my appearance inconveniences you.”

Zane took a step back and Pixal looked at everyone, finally ==taking time to recap on the events that landed her in this situation.

Pixa’s face lit up with concern as she asked, “How long have I been out?!”

“Nina days.” Julien answered.

“We have to get back, now!” Pixal declared.

“Why? What happened?” Lloyd asked.

“Is Nya alright?” Kai asked.

“I don’t know.” Pixal admitted, “This men attacked the prison and Cyrus Borg at the same time. Nya called them the Legion.”

“Fuck.” Kai muttered

“We’ve been dealing with them over here too.” Lloyd said.

“This Legion,” Pixal continued, “they were working with who ever the evil version of Kai was. Nya, Misako, and I went to the prison but I got separated from them. Wu, Skylor and Ronin went to go save Cyrus Borg but I couldn’t reach them with my comms. After Evil Kai injured me, I came here to get you all. I have no idea what happened to anyone else.”

“We’ve got to go back.” Kai and Jay unanimously stated.

“We will.” Lloyd replied, “We’ll go back and make sure that everyone’s ok.”

“We’ll go.” Kai-2 said, “You guys have helped us here for over a month, it’s the least we could do to return the favor. Though, I’ll probably have to ask some of us to stay to watch our city.”

Lloyd didn’t look at Kai-2 and muttered, “Thank you.”

The next day 

The ninja exited out of the rift and made their way through the forest. Cole-2, Nya-2, Julien, and Skylor-2 had all agreed to stay in the Quasiverse to watch over their Ninjago City. Now it was Kai-2, Dareth-2, Zane, and Garmadon who were joining Lloyd, Kai, Pixal, Cole, and Jay on their trip back to the original Ninjago City. Each of the original ninja gave the Quasiverse ninja a ride on their dragons. Lloyd was with Garmadon and Kai since he couldn’t form his own dragon. Zane was with Cole, Kai-2 was with Jay, and Dareth-2 and Pixal were in her Samurai mech suit. 

“Your city looks different.” Kai-2 observed.

“It’s the same as our city before Nadakhan attacked.” Garmadon corrected.

“Our city was never destroyed like that,” Cole responded, “so we never had to rebuild on such a big scale.”

As the ninja approached the monastery, they saw five figures looking up at them. Skylor, Ronin, and Misako all had a few cuts and bruises but were otherwise fine. Wu was looking perfectly fine, he probably received no hits. Nya was the worse looking, she had a crutch for her right leg, her left eye was swollen almost shut, and the fingers on her right arm were taped together.

The ninja landed and Kai and Jay rushed to Nya. 

“Are you ok?” Jay asked.

“Who the fuck did this to you?!” Kai demanded to know.

Nya both men and answered, “I’m fine, it was nothing I couldn’t handle.” Nya pulled back and answered, “It was you Kai. It was a doppelganger, not Kai-2–”

“One with two katanas and a burgundy gi?” Pixal asked, “I ran into him too. It appears that we might be dealing with multiple different worlds.”

“This city is unusually bright.” Garmadon said as he climbed off Lloyd's dragon.

“Garmadon?”

Garmadon felt a chill run down his spine as he heard a soothing voice call out his name. Garmadon turned around to see Misako walking towards him, hesitation in her step. She looked exactly how Garmadon remembered her, albeit a few decades older.

“Misako?”

Garmadon approached Misako and slowly put his hand on her cheek. Misako grabbed Garmadon’s hand and closed her eyes, feeling it’s warmth and reminiscing on old times.

“I’ve hoped for this day for so long.” Misako said as a tear streamed down her face.

“You’re even more beautiful than I remembered.” Garmadon announced. 

Misako pulled Garmadon into a hug, “I know you’re of a different time but–”

“Let us not worry about that.” Garamdon suggested, “If it’s alright with you, I'd just like to enjoy the moment. We can catch up later.”

Kai let go of Nya and approached Skylor, “How are you? I’ve missed you.”

Skylor smiled and kissed Kai before saying, “I’m getting better. How is it over there?”

Kai looked at Kai-2 and then back at Skylor, “They could be better, but enough about that, tell me about what’s been going on here.”

The ninja caught up with each other for about an hour before heading to the map room to discuss the recent events at Borg Tower and the prison. 

“Skylor, Wu, and I managed to push these guards out of Borg’s tower.” Ronin explained, “We don't know why Cyrus Borg was attacked, but the big man has gone into hiding. As far as i’m concerned, he can’t be found.”

“What about the prison?” Lloyd asked.

“The Legion stormed in, led by Evil Kai, or I guess we could call him Kai-3. they only kidnapped one prisoner.” Nya took a deep breath before continuing, “It was Kane, Elizabeth Kane.”

The mood in the room lowered as Nya continued, “Some of the prisoners got loose. We haven’t found them but a running theory is that they’re being integrated into Black Mask’s gang.”

“And speaking of Black Mask,” Skylor started, “he’s taken advantage of this whole situation. The guards, or Legion, or whatever it is, they disappeared after both attacks. But with the infrastructure damage to the Borg Tower and Prison, the police have been stretched pretty thin trying to stop robberies and prison escapes. Black Mask took the opportunity and pushed into the territory, expanding his operations to downtown Ninjago City. Right now he’s our biggest problem.”

“How can we help?” Kai-2 asked.

“Right now, i’m tracking his movements right now.” Skylor started, “Once we find his drug labs, we can take those out and finally put him down.”

“Were there any prisoners killed?” Kai suddenly asked, “Were any of them killed in the attack?”

Nya looked down, “Kai, I think we go talk in private.”

“I don't talk in private.” Kai insisted, “I need to know if anyone’s dead.”

“Kai, please calm down.” Pixal asked.

“Why are you acting like this?!” Kai challenged.

Skylor walked up and guided Kai back to her room. She closed the door and turned to Kai.

“Skylor you’re scaring me.” Kai stated.

“During the prison raid,” Skylor stated, “...Dick’s gone Kai, he was killed during the attack.”

Kai pulled away from Skylor, “How?”

Skylor looked away from Kai. she knew that Dick had been Kai’s only friend for a year, this wasn’t going to be easy for him.

“God damnit Skylor, how did he die?” Kai tried to keep his voice lowered, though his reddened eyes gave away his sorrow.

“He had his legs sliced off, and then...then he was burned alive.”

Kai slumped against the door, “Fuck.”

Skylor reached out Kai’s hands but he turned away.

“I need to be alone right now.” Kai announced as he left Skylor’s room.

Kai walked into his room and slammed the door shut. He walked over to the wall and punched a whole in it before laying down on his bed. Kai felt his eyes water and his hatred grow as he thought of Dick, One of the nicest people Kai ever had the privilege of knowing.  
Kai walked to his desk and pulled out Dick’s picture of himself. He traced it’s lines and etching and thought back to his first meeting with Dick. Kai thought about getting a frame for the picture and hanging it up in his room as some form of a memorial. Before Kai could go into deep thought, there was a knocking at his door.  
Kai grumbled to himself and then opened the door to find Pixal there. Kai wordlessly invited Pixal into his room. 

Pixal looked at Kai and spoke up, “Kai, I was not aware that you and Dick were friends.”

“Who killed him?” Kai asked.

“Kai-3.” Pixal responded, “I was with him, I was supposed to protect him and I have failed. I-i’m sorry.”

Kai perked up at what Pixal just admitted, “What do you mean ‘protect him’?”

“Dick and I were together during the prison raid.” Pixal explained, “When Kai-3 found us I told him to run away, yet he would not listen. After Kai-3 bested me in combat Dick, he tried to protect me.”

Kai sat on his bed, “Fucking dumbass. Why would you do something so stupid, Dick?”

I am so sorry Kai, I should have been there for him. I should have–”

Kai cut Pixal off, “Don’t fucking blame yourself, It’s not your fault.”

Pixal sat next to Kai as he asked, “Does he have any family?”

Pixal shook her head, “Nya and I did a search earlier today, there were none that we could find.”

Kia slumped down before his expression hardened, “What do you know about this, Kai-3?”

Pixal could immediately tell what Kai was thinking by the tone of his voice. 

“No Kai,” She said calmly, “you aren’t in the right state of mind and you can barely access your powers. Kai-3 would kill you almost immediately.”

“Well what the fuck else are we supposed to do?!” Kai stood up from his bed, “Let him walk? Fuck that.”

“No, of course we won’t. But you cannot afford to be rash.” Pixal argued, “Kai-3 nearly destroyed me while I was fully functional and he barely broke a sweat while doing so.”

“I don’t care.” Kai decided, his voice a mix of anger and melancholy, “When I find, i’m going to tear him apart.”

“That sounds like something Nya would’ve said last year,” Lloyd called out from Kai’s open doorway, “and I remember you telling her not to go down that path.”

“I should give you two some space.” Pixal said as she got up to leave.

“No, I want you both to leave.” Kai expressed, “I want to be alone right now.”

“Kai–” Lloyd started.

“Not right now Lloyd.” Kai asserted.

“Okay, I’m here if you need me.” Lloyd offered.

“Me too.” Pixal added.

With that, Both PIxal and Lloyd left Kai’s room and shut the door. Pixal went to go help Skylor find Black Mask while Lloyd went to Nya and Jay’s room. Lloyd knocked on the door and, after a few moments, was greeted by Nya. Nya looked frustrated at Lloyd but invited him anyway.

“Jay, can you give me and Lloyd a moment.” Nya asked.

“Uh yeah, sure” Jay said as he walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

Lloyd took a breath and then approached Nya, “I hope you weren’t too hurt –”

Lloyd couldn’t finish his sentence as Nya hobbled over and lightly slapped him in the face.

“That’s for not telling us about Zane.” Nya claimed.

Lloyd rubbed his left cheek, “Ok, I deserved that.”

“Oh did you?” Nya sarcastically asked in an aggressive tone, “I’d say you deserve more than that for hiding the nature of Zane’s death from us.”

“It’s not that simple.” Lloyd argued.

“It is,” Nya rebuttal, “You knew that Zane died for nothing and you refused to tell us about it, because I guess you always know what’s best for us right?”

Lloyd crossed his arms, “That’s not fair.”

“Ok. then tell me why you did it.” Nya challenged, “Why didn’t you tell us about the futility of Zane’s death?”

Lloyd sighed, “We’d just failed at protecting Fate, Zane had just died, Kai was thrown in prison, Jay and Cole had barely resolved their argument, Pixal was a mess, and you barely got over your bloodlust. What was I supposed to say, ‘By the way, Zane died for nothing?’ Even if Zane died for evil reasons, it was better than nothing. I just didn’t want any of you to feel worse, I just wanted us to finish Kane off and move on.”

Nya’s facial expressions softened at Lloyd’s explanation, “I understand why you did it, but that’s not for you to decide.”

“I know,” Lloyd admitted, “but I didn’t want to burden any of you.”

“But it is our burden.” Nya argued, “Zane’s our brother, he’s our responsibility. And You don’t get to decide how much we know about Zane’s death. I don’t know if you just don’t trust us or if this part of your ‘carrying the world on my shoulders shtick’ but whether or not we know about the full nature of Zane’s death is not for you to decide.”

Lloyd bit his lip. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust the ninja, it was just that he didn’t want to cause any unnecessary distress. Though now that Lloyd thought about it, that type of thinking could be seen as distrustful since he didn’t trust them to be able to handle the news.  
Lloyd decided to focus on the reason he was talking to Nya in the first place. 

“What about Kane?” 

“She knew about Kai-3.” Nya explained, “Apparently he visits her, which means that he and the Legion have known about our timeline. They’ve probably been exploring it and scoping us out.”

“Did she say anything about creating new timelines?” Lloyd pondered.

“She thinks that we are dealing with the three timelines.” Nya confirmed, “Kane even said that Kai-3 thanked her for creating him and his world. I think that Kane’s right Lloyd.”

“Me too.” Lloyd admitted, “But I still want to be sure. All I need to do is wait for Julien and Zane to finish their tests and we’ll know for sure.”

Nya leaded against the wall and folded her arms, “How long will that take?” 

“Julien said he’d run the test once Pixal and Zane were fixed, so he should’ve finished it by now, and Zane will definitely have done his part of the test by now. I’ll go check on them both.”

Lloyd turned around to leave when Nya called out to him.

“Lloyd,” 

The Green ninja turned to face Nya, “You need to tell the others about Zane.”

Lloyd nodded his head, “I know.”

Lloyd walked out of Nya’s room and headed to Cole’s room, he figured that Zane would be there. While walking, Lloyd thought of the tests he asked Julien and Zane to run. Julien was to analyze the temporal energy of the Legion medal and Lloyd himself. Zane was supposed to analyze the temporal energy from someone from the Quasiverse. Lloyd would compare the results and see if they were altered.  
Lloyd made it to Cole’s room. He knocked on the door and, to no one’s surprise, found that Cole and Zane were in the room talking together.

“Zane can we talk outside real quick?” Lloyd asked.

“Of course.” Zane replied as he got up from Cole’s chair.

“Everything good?” Cole pondered.

“Yes,” Zane answered before exiting out of the room.

Lloyd led Zane to his own room and then shut the door behind him, “Have you run those tests yet?”

Yes.” Zane walked out of the room with Lloyd in tow, “I discreetly ran the test on Dareth-2, he didn’t seem to mind that I wanted some of his skin cells.”

“What did it say?” 

Zane looked at Lloyd and casually asked, “Lloyd, are you trying to determine whether my world is really an alternate time that branched off from your original timeline?”

Lloyd got wide eyed at Zane, “How did you–”

“Simple deduction.” Zane explained, “That and my father asked me to help perform his tests, it was quite easy to gain insight on your hypothesis when I had access to all the data and results. And I am correct in presuming that the medal is part of another timeline line that was branched from your timeline?”

“...I’m almost sure of it,” Lloyd admitted, “If the evidence proves it then it’s true.”

“The evidence does prove it.” Zane confessed, “I ran the tests multiple times and they all confirm that my world and the world of the Legion are alternate timelines that branched off from your world.”

So it was true. Lloyd knew it in his heart, Kane’s three timelines had come into fruition. Now they were dealing with a time they didn’t know about filled with at least Garmadon, evil Ronin (Ronin-3), and Kai-3.  
Did Zane know that his timeline has only existed for the last year? Why was he so calm about this?

“I would’ve thought that you’d be more, I don’t know, sad about all this.” Lloyd noted.

“I’ve had multiple days to accommodate for this new revelation.” Zane explained, “Also, I’ve recently gotten used to going through existential crises. Finally, I now recognize that just as being an nindroid doesn’t change who I am, neither does being a chronological anomaly.”

Lloyd took the explanation and questioned, “You haven’t anyone about this right?”

“Oh no,” Zane assured, “that would breed chaos and emotional distress among everyone. I don’t know about your ninja but I believe that the best course of action for my ninja is to have Kai-2 explain it to them. He’s our leader, therefore, it will go over smoother.”

Lloyd processed everything that happened and then asked, “Do you mind if I get the results? I believe you, but I just want to see them on my own.”

“Of course. I have the results of both tests in my bag in Cole’s room.”

Lloyd and Zane left his room and headed down the hallway. Zane walked into Cole’s room and started digging in his personal bag. After a minute of dodging Cole’s questions, Zane pulled out a neatly folded yet thick envelope and handed it to Lloyd.

“Here you go, I hope it may provide some satisfaction to your inquiry.” Zane stated.

Lloyd noted and appreciated that Zane hid the nature of the tests from Cole, but he knew he was going to have to tell them of the threat they were really up against.

“Thanks.” Lloyd said as he left the room.

Lloyd opened the envelope as he made his way to his room. The data was shown in a labeled chart. It showed a lot of mathematical and scientific data that Lloyd couldn't put together if he tried. Luckily, Zane had typed up a summary at the bottom.  
Lloyd entered his room and then locked the door behind him. He sat on the floor reading the results over and over, desperately hoping they’d be different each time. Eventually, Lloyd accepted the truth.  
Three timelines, just like Kane said. The original one, the one where Lloyd was never born, and the one where he failed to defeat the Overlord. Two of those timelines were discovered and all that was left was this third timeline of darkness. That’s who their enemies were.

“Damn you Kane.” Lloyd said to himself, as the full weight of the situation came crashing down on him.

The next day

Cole smiled to himself as he looked at his newly framed Kirby Morro poster. The rays of the morning sky really seemed to enhance its beauty. Cole felt his stomach rumble and he mental went over his options for breakfast. While he was deciding on waffles, Cole heard a groan behind him as Zane woke up. 

“Morning sleepy head,” Cole said as he picked his pillow and blanket off the floor, “you enjoy the bed alright?”

Zane sat and replied, “Yes, it was much appreciated, though I still don’t see why we couldn’t have just shared the bed.”

“I told you, you’re a guest, it’s the polite thing to do.”

Cole watched as Zane got up and started stretching like he hadn’t just been asleep twenty seconds ago. That was something else he had in common with the other Zane. They both never needed to take the time to wake-up, they just got up and went about their day. It was something small that you wouldn’t even notice it, yet when it did, it reminded you that a little part of Zane was automated, robotic. It was something Cole didn’t like to think about.

Cole and Zane walked out of the room and found that Kai, Jay, Pixal Lloyd, and Nya were already awake and eating breakfast. 

“What’d you two sleep together or something?” Kai asked.

“No,” Cole said a little louder than he needed to, “I slept on the floor.”

“Which was unnecessary.” Zane added as he sat down next to Kai, “There was no reason we couldn’t have simply shared the bed.”

“I told you.” Cole sat down next to Lloyd, “it’s polite.”

“Hmm, you didn’t have a problem sharing a bed with me all those times we slept together.” Jay absentmindedly stated.

The ninja stared at Jay while Nya kissed his cheek, “Not the best choice of words, honey.”

“So…” Lloyd changed the subject, “What are you guys doing today?”

“I uh...I wanted to go to Zane’s grave.” Kai announced.

The atmosphere in the room simmered as he continued, “It’s just that i’ve never been. As soon as I got out, Skylor was shot and then we found the rift, I just got distracted.”

Nya never thought about it like that, she felt a little hollow as she remembered what Dick had said to her. Even if Kai did horrible things before, it wasn’t fair that he was forced to spend a year alone and immediately thrown into this huge mess.

“I will accompany you.” Pixal claimed, “I have come to accept Zane’s passing but I still to give him one final goodbye.”

“Yeah, i’m in too.” Cole added.

“Well, I was going to leave after breakfast.” Kai started, “So let’s not take too long.”

“Yeah,” Lloyd replied, “besides, I need to talk to my ninja and Kai-2 today anyways. I’m not trying to rush you Kai, just make sure you don’t take too long.”

Nya looked at Lloyd and nodded her head as if she knew what he was talking about. It made Cole wonder if something was going on between the two of them. A few seconds passed as the ninja ate in silence until a voice called out. 

“Could I go?” Zane sheepishly asked, “I was hoping to maybe get a sense of who Zane was as a person, though I completely understand if you’d prefer that I stayed here.”

Pixal took Zane’s hand and looked him in the eye, “Of course you can.”

Cole looked at Pixal and Zane holding hands and felt the slightest twinge of jealousy. He quickly dismissed those thoughts as he got up and started toasting some frozen waffles. 

About an hour later, Kai, Zane, Cole, and Pixal landed at the cemetery. Zane had to borrow a hoodie and sunglasses from Cole so that he wasn’t recognized by anyone.  
One by one, they each went up to Zane’s grave and said their piece. Cole talked of his guilt, how it was subsiding but still lingered. Pixal gave her goodbyes, she promised to always remember him even as she learned to move on. Zane didn’t go to his grave though, he didn’t feel as though he knew enough about his doppleganger to justify it.  
Finally, Kai walked up to Zane’s grave and made sure that no one could hear him. 

“Hi Zane,” Kai started, “I know it’s been a year but I’m here, finally. I, I- fuck this, I’ll just come out and say it. I’m sorry, I’m sorry I couldn't be there for you Zane. You needed me and I was locked up and fucking useless. All the times you’ve been there for me and the one time you need me, I couldn’t even be there.  
You, now Dick, it feels like I keep failing everyone.”

Kai knelt down to touch Zane’s grave, “I can’t help but wonder if these are signs that I shouldn’t be a ninja. I mean, there’s no point of all I do is fail to save the ones I love right? I know I want to be the Fire ninja but wanting something doesn’t mean I’m worth it.  
I wish you were here Zane. You’d know what to do. You were always the smartest of us, always the kindest and most forgiving.” 

Kai stood up and looked down at Zane’s grave, “I’m sorry Zane, I’m sorry for everything.”

Kai walked away and followed the other ninja into a taxi to get back to the monastery. The drive, for the most part, was silent until Pixal turned to Zane. 

“I heard that you recently discovered the nature of your robotic origins.”

“Yes,” Zane confirmed, “it was quite the shock. However, I am getting used to it.”

“I could help you if you wanted.” Pixal offered, “I could help teach you to access your more robotic side.”

“I would like that.” Zane responded. 

When the ninja got back to the monastery, Nya, Kai, Cole, and Pixal were called by Lloyd into a room with Wu, Ronin, Jay, Misako, Skylor, and Kai-2. As soon as everyone entered the map. Lloyd closed the door and then cleared his throat. 

“Thank you all for coming, I’ll keep this short.” Lloyd started, “I’m just going to talk and I really just need you guys to listen. As some of you will know, last year we had to fight against an Astrophysicist named Kane and a mercenary leader named Zhang. They wanted to destroy Fate, and to do so, they were going to create a time paradox around my life.”

Everyone from the original timeline was not surprised by the retelling of these events, considering that they lived them. Only Kai-3 was deeply invested in this story.

Lloyd continued, “To make the time paradox, they wanted to establish three events that happened in my life. The events were that I was never born, I lost the first battle against the Overlord, and that my life went on normally until I was able to power up the time machine that Kane built. Kane theorized that this paradox was supposed to create three different timelines, One where my life was unaltered, one where I was never born, and one where I lost the battle against the Overlord. Eventually, Kane succeeded in destroying Fate and...and Zane was killed in the process.  
Anyways, Zhang was killed, Kane was imprisoned, we buried Zane, and then we tried to move on. But then a year later we found the Quasiverse... a world where I was never born.”

“Lloyd, What are you saying?” Kai-2 cautiously asked.

“I’m saying that I asked Dr. Julien and Zane analyze the temporal energies of me, Dareth-2, and a service medal we found on one of the Legion guards. They all prove that the Quasiverse isn’t a universe, it’s an alternate timeline.”

Kai-3 sat back in a chair as processed what he just heard, “But, that doesn’t make any sense. I’m not just a copy of Kai, I’m my own person.”

“I agree.” Lloyd insisted, “I’m not saying that anyone is less valuable, but we are dealing with different timelines, not different universes.”

“The third timeline is the one with the Legion and Kai-3?” Ronin asked.

“Yes.” Lloyd confirmed, “And it’s the timeline where I lost to the Overlord. Yet Garamadon rules over it, so I don’t know what happened. What I do know is that they’re our enemies. They sent Ronin-3 to kidnap Maya and shoot Skylor, sent Kai-3 to...to kill Dick and injure Pixal, and I have a feeling that they’re just getting started.  
Kai-2, I wanted to tell you alone so you could best figure out how to tell them. You’re their leader so I figured that you’d know how to tell them.”

Lloyd waited as the room took in what he just said. How were they supposed to combat against a whole other timeline? Lloyd wanted to give the ninja space but he knew that now wasn’t the time. 

“But that’s not everything.” Lloyd started with a hoarse voice, “There’s something I need to tell you guys about Zane’s death.”

That quickly refocused everyone’s attention on Lloyd as he continued, “When I arrested Kane alone, it was because I figured out that Kane's whole plan was pointless. Her family was never killed by Fate so everything she did to save them was for nothing...including Zane’s death. Zane died for no reason at all.” 

Lloyd swallowed as he felt his eyes burn, “I didn’t tell any of you because–because I wanted us to start healing again. I know what I did wasn’t fair but I didn’t want to hurt any of you. still...It wasn’t fair of me and I’m so sorry for that.”

Lloyd looked down at his shoes as the room grew quiet. Then Kai walked up and hugged Lloyd.

“Oh Lloyd,” Kai started as he squeezed the Green ninja tight, “you fucked up, we all do that.”

“Yeah,” Cole added as he joined in the hug with tears in his eyes, “At least you were honest with us.”

Lloyd started crying into Kai’s shoulder as Jay and Nya joined in the hug.

“I’m sorry,” Lloyd sobbed, “I just didn’t want to burden you all.”

“Lloyd, ya’ gotta learn to trust us.” Jay advised.

“We miss Zane too Lloyd.” Nya called out.

Kai-2 watched as the ninja hugged each other and processed what he had just heard. He knew that being from an alternate timeline didn’t realistically change anything, but it still felt weird. Maybe he just wasn’t used to it. Either way, Kai-2 was not looking forward to having to explain it to his team.

Just then, the door was thrown open and everyone turned to see Zane walk in.

“Guys,” zane started, “Skylor’s algorithm just found Black Mask and his main drug lab!”

The next day

Skylor stood in front of the screen in the map room. It showcased two locations in Ninjago City, a ‘newly opened motel’ that served as a front for Black Mask’s drug operation and a safe house that housed Black Mask himself.  
Skylor could feel the rest of the ninja behind her, waiting for her instructions. She could also feel Pixal and Misako waiting to tell her that she wasn’t ready but Black Mask was her responsibility.

“How do you want to do this Skylor?” Lloyd asked, “You know Black Mask better than anyone, what do you think is the best way to go about this?”

“We need to do this discreetly.” Skylor started, “Black Mask is smarter you’d think, he was able to take control of the Taskmasters and create one of the biggest drug operations in recent history. And he knows how to recover his businesses. Both us and the Pioneers waged war on him and He came back both times.  
We need to be stealthy about this. The second that Black Mask hears about the drug house, he’ll know it’s us and he’ll bounce. I think we should send two small teams out, one to take out the drug lab, and one to take out Black Mask without anyone noticing it.”

Skylor turned around and looked at her options. There was herself, Kai, Nya, Cole, Jay, Lloyd, Pixal, Ronin, Kai-2, Dareth-2, and Zane. 

“There’s eleven of us here,” Skylor observed, “I think that six people should go take out Black Mask and five should go bring down the drug lab. We all sneak and either wreck the drugs or take out Black Mask.”

Skylor pulled up a blank document, ready to sign everyone to a group, “Anyone have any preferences on which route they want to take? I know i’m going after Black Mask.”

Pixal stepped forward, “I was not there for you last time. That is a mistake I refuse to repeat.”

“I’m with you too.” Kai confirmed, “Whether you like it or not, you’re still injured, and i’m not leaving your side.”

“I will go stop those heinous drug makers.” Dareth-2 declared, “They won’t survive the wrath of the Brown ninja!”

Kai-2 rolled his eyes and smirked at Dareth-2’s comment, no wonder he and Skylor-2 were best friends. Still, even though Dareth-2 was the most stealthy of his ninja, he didn’t want him alone in a situation they were unfamiliar with.

“I’ll go do the drug bust too.” Kai-2 stated.

“In that case, I'll go take out Black Mask,” Lloyd added, “that way we have one Green ninja on each team.”

“I’m always in the mood for beating up some drug dealer.” Cole explained, “I’ll go to the drug lab.”

“Skylor,” Nya started, “I want to be there when you kick Black Mask’s ass, count me in with your group.”

“I’m with Nya.” Ronin said, “Plus, there’ll be more minions with Black Mask. I’ll use my sniper rifle to cover for you Skylor.”

Skylor finished typing and looked at everyone, “Alright, that’s six for going after Black Mask. Zane and Jay, you two ok with going after the drug lab?”

“Certainly.” Zane replied.

“You betcha.” Jay responded.

Skylor nodded her head, “Good, now let's go get this son of a bitch.”

Hours had passed and the day gave way to night. Dareth-2, Kai-2, Cole, Zane, and Jay landed on the roof of the drug lab and Kai-2 spoke into his comms.

“Skylor, can you hear me?” 

After a few seconds, Skylor responded, “Yeah, you’re loud and clear.”

“Just checking, be safe.”

“You too.” Skylor finished as she ended the conversation.

Kai-2 turned to the rest of the group, “Ok, according to the schematics, there’s only one floor and a basement. Cole and Zane will clear out the basement and the rest of us will clear out the first floor. Any questions?”

“Nah,” Cole replied as he holstered his war hammer, “Let’s destroy some drugs.”

The ninja jumped off the roof and landed softly on the side of the lab. They split up as Dareth-2, Kai-2, and Jay broke a window and climbed into the building. Meanwhile, Zane and Cole rounded to the other side of the building and window to the basement. Zane took out his bow and used it to break the window. Zane entered the basement first and landed right next to the stairs that led to the first floor and the door to the rest of the basement. 

Cole dropped in behind Zane and whispered, “I'll barricade the door at the top of the stairs.”

Zane nodded and Cole went to lock the door. Zane turned to the basement and listened into the basement door, it was suspiciously quiet. Zane softly opened the door and was immediately pulled into the basement as multiple hands grabbed him.  
Zane was thrown to the other side of the basement and heard the door being closed and locked. He sat up and took in his surroundings. There were nine Taskmasters in the room, they seemed to be dressed for the practice of drug making. Two of them had pistols and the others were unarmed.  
The perimeter of the basement was surrounded by tables that were littered with chemistry sets and vials of Black Mask’s hallucinogenic drugs.  
The basement itself looked exactly how a stereotypical basement would. If the Taskmasters were as advanced as Cole had described them to be, then they had fallen long ago. Zane’s analysis of the room was interrupted when the One of the Taskmasters spoke up.

“I told you I heard someone!”

“What the hell?!” another Taskmaster called out, “We killed the Ice ninja, who’s this guy?”

Zane stood up and addressed his attackers, “I highly advise that you all surrender immediately.”

“What are you going to do?” A taskmaster challenged, “There’s nine of us and only one of you.”

At that moment, the door was thrown off its hinges as Cole burst through. He grabbed one of the taskmasters and threw him into the roof with enough force to crack the ceiling. The taskmaster fell to the floor and was knocked unconscious. 

Cole looked at Zane, “All you alright?”

“Yes.” Zane assured.

“Not for long you won’t!” a Taskmaster called out.”

Four Taskmasters turned to face Cole as four turned to face Zane. Then, the fight began.

A Taskmaster raised his pistol at Zane’s head. Zane leaped over and pushed the gun away from his direction before using a series of chain punches to knock the Taskmaster to the ground. Another Taskmaster approached from Zane’s left side, he threw a left hook that Zane dodged. Then the Taskmaster threw a right hook, also dodged by Zane and then performed a backward right hammer strike. Zane caught the right with his left right hand and held it straight. Then with all of his strength, Zane punched the Taskmaster’s arm, breaking it.  
Cole dodged a Taskmaster’s right round house kick and when he turned around, Cole performed a suplex, knocking the Taskmaster out. Cole stood up and saw that the remaining seven Taskmasters were closing in on him and Zane, he needed to break up their formation fast. Cole jumped up and then slammed his fist on the ground, causing a shift in the earth and throwing the Taskmasters off balance.  
A Taskmaster recovered and then tried to hit Zane with a left jab. Zane blocked it and then chopped the Taskmaster in the throat before kneeing him in the face. Zane then tripped the Taskmaster to the ground and then dropped his knee on said Taskmaster’s head, knocking him out. Another Taskmaster ran at Zane and performed a right side kick. Zane pulled an arrow out of his quiver and stabbed it into the Taskmaster’s leg, then Zane stepped back and used his ice powers to freeze the Taskmaster in place, taking him out of the fight. Zane turned to yet another Taskmaster and leaned backwards to avoid a high kick. Zane flipped backwards, pulled out his bow, and fired two arrows into the Taskmaster’s chest. Finally, Zane blasted the Taskmaster against the wall with his ice, rendering him unconscious.  
At the same time, Cole kicked a Taskmaster against the room and then drew out his hammer. A Taskmaster hesitantly charged the Earth ninja, only to get swept off of his legs as a result. Cole used his hammer to sweep the Taskmaster’s legs and then hit him on the side, breaking his ribcage and taking him out of the fight. Cole saw a Taskmaster pull a pistol in his peripheral and used his powers to crack the earth below him. In his attempt to regain his balance, the Taskmaster dropped his gun and Cole kicked it away. Cole then aimed and threw his hammer at the Taskmaster, hitting him in the head and knocking him out. Cole heard a crackling sound above and, as a result, didn’t see the Taskmaster approaching him until it was too late.  
The Taskmaster tackled Cole and pushed him into one of the tables. Cole landed on that table and had the breath knocked out of him as the table collapsed to the collapse. In a panic, Cole took in deep breaths to regain his composure. Cole waved the newly formed dust and particles away from him as he tried to catch his breath. However, Cole looked up to see that a Taskmaster was going in to attack him. However, before the Taskmaster could hurt Cole, he was blasted into the wall by a fiery green energy ball.  
Cole looked as Kai-2, Dareth-2, and Jay entered the basement. Zane came over and helped Cole to his feet.

“Are you ok?” Zane asked.

“I’m fine, just got the wind knocked out of me.” Cole answered.

“Looks like you guys got the brunt of the Taskmasters here.” Kai-2 commented, “Come on, let’s burn these drugs and get out of here.”

“I got this,” Jay said as he crackled some lightning, “turns out that these drugs don’t like lightning too much.”

The rest of the ninja evacuated the building as Jay used his electricity to destroy most of the drugs in the basement. Jay left the basement with one sample so it could be studied and walked outside to meet the other in front of the now destroyed drug lab.  
Cole called the police to notify them of the drug lab while Kai-2 called Skylor over the comms.

“Skylor, you there?”

“Yeah, have you destroyed the drug lab?” Skylor asked.

“Yes, and Jay got a sample of the drug for analysis. Did you get Black Mask?”

“Yes, but I don't like it.” Skylor confessed, “He just surrendered. there were no Taskmasters with him and he was standing outside waiting to be arrested when we got there.”

“That doesn’t sound good.” Kai-2 remarked.

“It’s not.” Skylor confirmed, “I don’t know what he’s planning but i’m going to find out.”

The next day

Skylor thanked the guard as he opened the door to the visitation room for her. The second that Black Mask was officially in the prison, Skylor had gone to see what he was up to.  
Skylor sat down and watched as Black mask was brought to her. With the exception of the Black Mask that was melted on his face, Black Mask was dressed in typical prison attire. Yet, despite his current situation, Black Mask seemed relaxed as he sat down and picked up the phone. Skylor felt like something was wrong as she picked up the phone.

“I heard you almost died,” Black Mask started, “it’s a shame I couldn’t be there. Still, I hope you’re doing better.”

Skylor wasn’t in the mood for being teased and cut to the chase, “Why did you turn yourself in?”

Black Mask ignored Skylor’s question and said, “Do you ever wonder why I stray away from Zhang's methods?”

“No,” Skylor replied, “and I don’t really–” 

“Because it’s easier to control crime than it is to fight it.” Black Mask interrupted, “That, and the money from the drugs only reinforces our control. When everything comes together, the Taskmasters will save the Squalors, by embracing its drug roots instead of massacring it.”

“Well I don’t care.” Skylor insisted, “You’re going away for a long time. But before you do, I want to know why you turned yourself in.”

Black Mask tilted his head, “I have a new friend, he offered a partnership. And all I have to do is turn myself in to the police and wait.”

Skylor arched an eyebrow, what ‘friend’ was Black Mask talking about?

“Why would you want to take orders from someone else?” Skylor pondered.

“My friend has offered me the power and control I want.” Black Mask started, “I could have the criminal scene of Ninjago in the palm of my hand. But above all else, he offered me revenge against you and the real Fire ninja. I can't begin to tell you how much seething hate I have for you two, even if you are just a pretender. And he says that if I play my part, I'll be able to show both of you true pain. But that will come later. For now, I will play my part and wait.”

“Wait for what?” Skylor demanded to know.

“You’ll know it when it happens” Black Mask offered.

Skylor had a guess that this friend was Kai-3. He attacks the prison and Cyrus Borg and suddenly Black Mask surrenders? That was too close to be coincidental. Still, Skylor wanted to be certain.

“Who is this friend?” Skylor asked.  
“I’ve never seen his face or heard his real voice, but he’s a man with incredible skill and a sadistic nature. I’m pretty sure that your Samurai friend knows him” Black Mask revealed.

Skylor rolled her eyes out of stress. So it was Kai-3, this guy was beginning to feel like a recurring problem.

Skylor refocused on “Let me guess, he has a dark red gi and two twin katanas right?”

Black Mask tilted his head with surprise, “So you do know him, good. That’ll make it all the better when we finally destroy you.”

Skylor had enough of Black Mask and, importantly, she knew that he was in league with Kai-3. Skylor wordlessly got up and left to tell the others.

When Skylor got back to the monastery, she rounded everyone up and told them about everything Black Mask had said. Skylor had paid close attention not to mention anything having to do with timelines, she wasn’t sure if Kai-2 had told Zane, Dareth-2, or any of his ninja about the three timelines yet. When Skylor was done talking, Nya was the first to speak up.

“Well, I don’t what what’s going to happen with Black Mask but we should focus on hunting down Kai-3”

“I agree,” Kai-2 said, “He’s probably the one who has Maya and she takes priority.”

“But where would we start?” Jay asked, “We already beat Black Mask and Cyrus Borg in hiding.”

“Not the one from the Quasiverse.” Lloyd pointed out, “Ronin-3 only said that they’d be hunting down A Cyrus Borg and had a contingency for A prison, but he never said for which world.”

“Then that is our next step.” Garmadon claimed, “We go back to my world and protect Cyrus Borg-2 while investigating the prison.”

Kai-2 nodded before turning to the other ninja, “We know a prisoner who knows everything about our prison. If anyone will know anything going on there, he will.”

“I hate to complicate things,” Nya started, “but now that Black Mask is imprisoned, there’s gonna be a power vacuum. And either the Pioneers will take his territory and get that much stronger, or another gang will. We’ve got to make sure that the territory is reestablished properly before leaving.”

“In addition,” Pixal added, “Some of us need to stay here incase a crisis occurs.”

“I’m not one for for traveling to other realms or dimensions or whatever.” Ronin stated, “I’ll stay here.”

“I’ll stay here too.” Misako claimed, much to Garmadon’s chagrin.

“What? But you don’t have to.” Garmadon softly pointed out.

“Yes, I do.” Misako countered with a warmth in her voice, “Do not worry though, for I will be back.”

Garmadon slumped into his chair as Lloyd spoke up, “So we stay to help clean up black masks’ organization, then everyone but Ronin and Misako heads to the Quaisverse to protect Cyrus Borg-2 and investigate the prison. Any arguments?”

No one said anything so Lloyd and Kai-2 ended the meeting. Cole left the room and went to the bathroom. When he exited, Cole walked to his room. Cole opened the door to his room and came face to face with Zane. Not the Quasiverse Zane, but his Zane, robotic skin and all. The Ice ninja stood there, as solid as a statue, and bore daggers straight into Cole’s eyes.  
Cole’s heart rate increased as his palms became sweaty.

“Zane?” Cole called out in disbelief.

“Yes?” A voice from down the hallway called out.

Cole didn’t pay attention though as he maintained eye contact on this silent Zane. Cole felt a tugging from behind him and turned around to see Quasiverse Zane giving him a concerned look.

“Cole are you ok?” Zane asked.

Cole turned back around but his Zane was gone. Where did he go? Was he even there? Cole knew that it wasn’t possible but his Zane was right there. He honestly didn’t know what happened.

“Yeah.” Cole slowly replied.

“Are you sure?” Zane asked as he checked Cole’s forehead, “You feel warm, maybe we should give you a check up.”

“No,” Cole argued, “no I think I just need some sleep. I’ll be fine I promise.”

“Ok…” Zane hesitantly conceded as Cole closed the door to his room.

A week later

“This prison is massive.” Jay commented as he, Lloyd, Cole, Kai, Wu, Kai-2, Zane, Skylor-2, and Dareth-2 made their way through the Quasiverse prison escorted by prison guards.

When the ninja came back to the Quaisevere, Kai-2 sat them down and explained the three timelines to them. After that, it was decided that Jay, Lloyd, Cole, Kai, Wu, Kai-2, Zane, Skylor-2, and Dareth-2 would head to the prison to investigate it as well as ask this mysterious prisoner for any information they could use.

“It is.” Zane confirmed, “For fun, I compared the size of populations between our two prisons and found that my prison is over three times the size of yours with a population of a little less than ten thousand.

“Did you just say ‘for fun’?” Kai asked. 

“Lay off Kai.” Cole said as they made their way to the maximum security part of the prison.

“How did you guys get so many prisoners?” Jay asked.

“Most of the criminals were arrested for rioting and looting when Ninjago City was originally destroyed.” Zane explained, “It was not a pleasant time.”

Jay walked past some guards who smeared at him. He then jogged up to Kai-2, “Why do all these guards keep looking at me weird?”

Kai-2 stopped, “Because you look exactly like my Jay. I’ve told the Warden about the situation with you but that doesn’t change that you’re his doppelganger.”

Jay stopped walking, “Jay-2’s here? Can I go see him?”

Kai-2 turned around, “I don’t know, Jay. That’s not such a good idea.”

“Why not?” Jay challenged, “What’s the worst that could happen?”

“I can go with him.” Zane offered, “I’ll make sure everything is ok.”

“I’ll go with him too.” Cole stated.

“I am going to regret this so much.” Kai-2 muttered to himself before saying, “Fine.”

Kai-2 turned to one of the guards, “Can you please take these three to go see Jay Walker?”

“Are you sure?” the guard asked, a little disdain in his voice.

“Yes.” Kai-2 sighed.

“Very well then.” The prison guard turned to Cole, Jay, and Zane, “Stay close and follow my orders.”

With that, the Guard, Jay, Cole, and Zane went down another hallway. Everyone else continued walking until they came to an elevator.

“Let me call the other guards to send the elevator up sir” A prison guard said.

“Thank you.” Kai-2 responded.

While the ninja were waiting, Dareth-2 suddenly called out, “Oh fiddlesticks. I forgot to meet my doppelganger.” 

“I have a picture of him if you want to see him.” Lloyd said as he took out his phone.

“Oh yes.” Dareth-2 replied as Lloyd handed him his phone.

Dareth-2 joyfully took a look at the photo of his doppleganger, only to express a face of horror.

“What. Is. This?!” Dareth demanded to know.

“That’s our Dareth.” Lloyd replied.

Dareth smeared at the photo, “No, that’s impossible. There’s no way that someone so not suave could be my doppelganger. Look at him! He has no abs, none. And his hairline is receding, and–wait, are those wrinkles?! How did someone as glorious as me turn into this? How is he even a ninja.”

“Actually, he is not a ninja,” Wu corrected, “nor is he an elemental master.”

Dareth-2 clutched his chest in agony and fell to his knees screaming, “NOOOO!”

Skylor-2 walked over to Dareth-2 as he started weeping and pulled him into a hug, “All right, come on big guy, let’s go get you cleaned up.”

Lloyd grabbed his phone as Skylor-2 and Dareth-2 walked off. 

Kai looked at Kai-2 and harshly teased, “You ever worry about those two?”

“I love and respect all of my ninja,” Kai-2 started, “but at the end of the day, he’s still Dareth.”

The elevator pulled up behind the remaining ninja and Lloyd, Kai, Kai-2, and Wu entered it. The elevator ride was silent save for the elevator music. Eventually The elevator stopped and the ninja were led into a hallway. Lloyd recognized this as the same facility used to hold his father before the Oni attacked. The only difference was that instead of lasers, the hallway had automated water hoses.  
The ninja kept walking until they eventually came into an open area with a container in the middle, just like the one that held Aspheria. Only, Aspheria was the prisoner. The ninja reached the container and saw that the prisoner wasn’t human, but a ghost, a very familiar ghost with short black hair and a bright green streak.

“You’ve got to be shitting me.” Kai exclaimed as he took a protective step in front of Lloyd.

The prison walked to the edge of their container and looked directly at Kai-2.

“Morro,” Kai-2 started, “we need your help.”

Morro stared at Kai-2 before smiling, “You must be in a lot of trouble if you came all this way to get my help.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't expecting this one to be so long but I hoped you all enjoyed it. Next chapter, we'll see the ninja investigate the prison and we finally get to meet Jay-2. I can't wait and i'll see y'all later.


	10. Old Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ninja meet with two old as friends as they investigate the prison. Cole continues to suffer the hallucinations of his Zane.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone. I hope y'all are doing well. We're now officially halfway through! I'm excited, I hope you enjoy the chapter.

“Morro,” Kai-2 started, “we need your help.” 

Morro stared at Kai-2 before smiling, “You must be in a lot of trouble if you came all this way to get my help.”

Morro then looked at Kai, then formed a confused face as he realized that there were two of them. Morro’s mind scattered with possible explanations to why he was seeing two Kai. Yet he  
stopped thinking when he saw the old man behind them.

“Wu?” Morro hesitantly asked.

Wu looked at his first student before turning to Kai-2, “Let me in, I want to see him.”

“Are you sure, master?” Kai asked.

“Yes.” Wu asserted.

“I don’t if he can be trusted.” Lloyd added, shuddering at the memories of being possessed.

“How is this even possible?” Morro asked, “You’re supposed to be dead.”

Kai-2 shook his head, “I’m sorry Wu, but I–”

“I wasn’t asking.” Wu interrupted, “Please, let me see him.”

Kai-2 hesitated before turning to Morro, “Don’t try anything.”

Kai-2 walked to a panel at the side of the cell and pressed a blue button. The door to the cell opened up and Kai-2 waited for Morro to make a break for it. Instead, Morro stepped back and made room for Wu as he walked into the cell. Morro stood still, still surprised as Wu approached him.

“Morro,” Wu started, “It’s good to see you.”

“Wu, i’m sorry.” Morro confessed, “I’m so sorry about all of it. The Preeminent, possessing Kai, stealing your father’s staff, I regret it all.”

“No Morro, I am the one who owes an apology.” Wu countered, “I should have never put such pressure on you to be the green ninja. I know I made you feel as though I only cared about him being the green ninja, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Just like my other ninja, you are my son Morro. And one of my biggest regrets, and i’m sorry for that.”

“Look, I hate to break things up, but we’re here for a reason.” Lloyd noted.

“He’s right.” Kai-2 agreed, “Morro, here’s what you need to know. The other Kai, Wu, and the blonde kid are from an alternate timeline. They came over here to help us track down someone from a third, evil timeline.”

“My name’s Lloyd.” Lloyd said.

Kai-2 gave Morro a minute to process everything before continuing, “There’s a very dangerous man we’re looking for. He’s...he’s my doppelganger, and we need to find him. Look Morro, I know that everything that happens in the prison reaches you at some point. I need you to tell me if anything has been going on lately.”  
Morro circled his cell, thinking over the happenings of the recent weeks and months. Wu took the time to sit on Morro’s bed and Lloyd and Kai looked at each other. They never could understand how Wu could so easily forgive Morro, though having forgiven Kai for the crimes he used to commit, Lloyd was starting to understand.

“There’s been a man in the prison lately,” Morro finally started, “he’s got some of the prison guards in his pocket. ”

“Does he wear a dark red gi?” Kai-2 asked.

“I don’t know.” Morro answered, “I was only approached by one of his lackeys.”

“Approached?” Kai-2 repeated, “What do you mean approached? What did they want from you?”

“They wanted me to join them.” Morro replied, “to be a ‘high ranking member of their Legion,’ whatever that is.”

“Did you join them?” Kai-2 asked.

Morro rolled his eyes at Kai-2, “Yes Kai. I joined the evil group just so I could rat them out to you. I joined the group that’s slowly taking control of the prison and chose to stay in this prison.”

Kai-2 held his hands up, “Ok, ok. I get it.”

“No, I didn’t join them.” Morro stated, “I told you before, I’m trying to atone for all the bad that i’ve done.”

Kai-2 let out a little sigh of relief, “how much of the prison does he have? How many guards are under his control?”

“Enough to mess with the prison itself.” Morro explained, “And you ask me, I think he has some type of safe house here.”

Wu stood up from Morro’s bed and stroked his beard, “If Kai-3 does have guards under his control, that may explain why there are so many of them escorting us here.”

Kai-2 perked up that observation, “Dareth-2 and Skylor-2 are alone up there. We have to go back now.”

Kai-2 turned around to run off before hesitating and turning around, “Morro, thank you for your help.” 

“Let me out of here,” Morro suggested, “I can help you with whatever you need. Come on, let me prove myself to you.”

Kai-2 looked back at Morro, “No.” 

“After all this time you still don’t forgive me?” Morro asked, “I’ve already told you, Kai, I’m sorry for possessing you. I regret it and if I could take it back, I promise you that I would.”

“It’s not that.” Kai-2 argued, “I know that you’re sorry Morro, and I forgive you. But I don’t trust you.” 

Morro sighed and responded, “Fair enough.”

Kai-2 nodded at Morro. Then he, Lloyd, and Kai started heading back to the regular part of the prison. Wu took a look at Morrow and spoke up.

“I will not say goodbye Morro, for I know that I will see you again.”

“I hope so.” Morro replied.

Wu started to walk out of the cell only to be stopped when Morro called out his name. Wu turned around and was only half surprised when Morro hugged him.

Wu hugged Morro back, “I want you to know that you can find a family with the ninja when you get out of prison.”

Wu then pulled away from Morro and walked out of the cell. He took one last look at the master of wind, smiled, and then took off running after the other ninja. 

Wu caught up with the other ninja as Kai-2 tried to call Skylor-2.

Skylor-2 leaned against the hallway wall, waiting for Dareth-2 to finish up in the bathroom. She was thinking about Maya when two guards approached her. Skylor-2 stood up to address them when she heard Kai-2 calling for her over the comms. However, while she was distracted, one of the guards pulled out a shock baton and shocked Skylor-2 until she fell to the ground.

Dareth-2 heard Skylor-2 fall from inside the bathroom and went to hide in one of the stalls. He got onto the toilet and crouched down so he couldn’t be seen from outside the stall. What had happened to Skylor-2? Were they being hunted?  
Dareth-2 focused him as he felt for animal life throughout the prison. He felt the presence of a guard dog nearby and called it to his aid.  
Soon, two guards walked into the bathroom. 

“We know you're in here Brown ninja.” A prison guard called out, “Come with us now or else the Fire ninja gets it.”

Dareth-2 held his breath as one of the prison guards passed by his stall. The prison guard was about to peer into the bathroom when the guard dog burst through the bathroom doors and bit into one of the guard’s legs. The guard howled in pain and the other guard ran toward him, giving Dareth-2 enough time to jump out of the stall. He swept the legs of the guard who wasn’t being attacked by the dog and then finished him off with three solid punches to the right temple. Then Dareth-2 turned to the other guard and knocked him out with a backflip kick.

Dareth-2 thanked the dog and then rushed out of the bathroom, only to find Kai-2 and the other ninja tending to Skylor-2. Kai-2 helped his wife up and then turned to Dareth-2. 

“What happened?”

“I don’t know.” Dareth-2 defended, “These guards just attacked us.”

“It seems that Kai-3 does indeed have some hold over this prison.” Wu observed.

“Are you ok?” Kai-2 asked as he checked on Skylor-2.

“I’m fine.” Skylor-2 assured.

“We need to get out of here.” Lloyd claimed, “Who knows how many of these guards are corrupted.”

“But if Morro’s right, then Kai-3 has a safehouse right here.” Kai pointed out, “We can’t just leave.”

“We’ll come back.” Lloyd promised, “Right now, we need to leave and make a better plan.”

“Lloyd’s right,” Kai-2 agreed, “We need to come up with a plan that doesn’t send every corrupted guard after us. Come on, let’s get Zane, Cole, and Jay and get out of here.

Kai made some comment about Kai-2 not having a spine but followed the other ninja regardless. He had to admit, now that they knew that some parts of the prison were under Kai-3’s control, it was hard not to feel paranoid. Judging by their body language, the other ninja weren’t feeling so confident either. 

Kai looked down at his blue jeans and red long sleeve shirt and wondered if the guards would let him out should he get separated from the ninja. He wasn’t too sure that he would.

They all rounded a corner and held their guards up as a group of prisoners were being escorted back to their cells. Kai took a look at the prisoners and stopped in his tracks. One of the prisoners  
looks familiar, he has dark brown skin with straight matted hair.

“Dick.” Kai cheerfully said as he approached the prisoner group.

The prison guards stared at Kai as he approached but let him through. Kai approached Quasiverse Dick until he drew his attention.

Dick turned around and scowled at Kai, “The fuck do you want?”

Kai was taken aback, his Dick never cursed, “What?”

Dick rolled his eyes, “Looks like we got a dense one over here. Read my lips. What do you want, why are you here?” 

Kai stared at Dick, this guy wasn’t his friend. His Dick was kind and compassionate, and even though his doppleganger shared his face, they had two completely different identities.

“Hello?” Quasiverse Dick asked.

Kai shook his head, “Sorry, I–I don’t know what I was doing.”

Dick rolled his eyes, “Awww. Let me guess, you’re just a random nobody pitying themselves because they never got mommy and daddy’s approval.”

Kai’s jaw dropped before his facial expression hardened, “God, you are such an asshole.”

“Kai.” Kai-2 called out as he approached from behind, “Come on, let’s go.”

Kai took one last look at Dick and left.

“Hey, i’m sorry.” Kai-2 offered, “I know that was your friend and all–”

“Fuck off.” Kai stated as he walked away from Kai-2. 

Jay felt his nerves fly up as he approached the door. According to the guards, his doppelganger was on the other side and Jay honestly didn't know what to expect. How bad could Jay-2 have been that there was a whole other prison wing dedicated to him. Jay turned to Zane and Cole, who looked at him with concern. 

“Would you like us to accompany you?” Zane asked. 

“No.” Jay said while shaking his head, “This is something I have to do for myself.”

Cole grabbed Jay's hand, “You sure?” 

Jay looked back at Cole and answered honestly, “No, but this is something I need to do on my own.”

Jay thought back to his last visit with his therapist all those months ago. She wanted him to define who he was, think about his identity. Now Jay was getting a chance to look at a version of himself and he didn't know what to expect. Would he even recognize himself? Jay thought that if he was able to meet his doppelganger, he would get a sense of who he was as a person. Now he wasn't so sure.  
Jay noticed that Cole looked behind him and froze for a second. His skin slowly paled as if he was seeing a ghost. 

Jay knitted his eyebrows, “Cole, you ok?” 

Cole blinked a couple times, then he shook his head and looked back at Jay, “Yeah, I'm fine. It's nothing.” 

Jay looked at Zane. Judging by his facial expression, the Ice ninja shared Jay's concern about Cole. However, before Jay could press Cole any further, The guard behind him spoke up. 

“Will it just be you who's entering the cell?” The guard asked. 

“Yes.” Jay stammered, “It's just me.”

The guard wordlessly opened the door and gestured for Jay to enter, “Just bang on the door if you want to be left out.”

Jay peered into the cell and was immediately hit with a musty smell. The cell was lit enough to see a figure in the bed facing away from the door. They didn’t even move as the door opened. The rest of the cell was dark but surprisingly warm. It’s walls were black with a little rust showing and there were no windows in the room. The room itself was only decorated with the small bed that was pushed into the corner of the room, a toilet, and a sink.

Jay walked into the cell and the Guard shut the door behind him. As soon as the door closed the figure spoke up.

“What do you want, Kai?” the figure called out, still facing away from the door.

Jay felt butterflies in his stomach as he heard himself say, “I’m not Kai.”

Jay’s voice seemed to grab the figure’s attention as he perked up. The figure sat up and got off the bed and Jay got his first look at Jay-2.  
Jay-2 looked skinny, like he’d been starved. He sported a scruffy and ginger beard. Jay-2 was pale and looked tired, like he could never get a full night's rest. Besides the orange prison suit, Jay had an eyepatch covering his right eye. But the most striking thing about Jay-2 was his defeated attitude and hunched over attire. Jay-2 looked as if he could barely walk, much less stand up.  
Jay-2 looked at Jay with a mixture of shock and doubt on his face. Jay-2 reached out to touch Jay’s shoulder, pulling back when he made actual contact.

“Wha–what the hell are you?” Jay-2 managed to ask.

“‘I’m you...” Jay softly explained, “you from another timeline.”

“A doppleganger?” Jay-2 questioned himself, “What did you do this time, Kai?”

“Nothing actually.” Jay corrected, “Kai-2 didn’t do anything. This whole thing’s actually my team’s fault.”  
Jay observed Jay-2 glaring at him and let out a nervous laugh, “I know this is a lit–”

“Do me a favor and stop talking.” Jay-2 sullenly said, “I need to process this...wait, why did you call him Kai-2?”

“We found your timeline first,” Jay explained, “so everyone in your timeline gets a ‘-2’ at the end of their name, except for Zane since ours is gone. We call your timeline the Quasiverse. We also just found out about a third timeline that’s very evil. We’re trying to find Kai-3, from the third timeline, which I need to find a name for now that I think of it.”

Jay-2 looked at Jay and then formed as he leaned against the wall.

“What’s wrong?” Jay cautiously asked, “You look sad.” 

“You’re what’s wrong.” Jay-2 answered, “You are almost exactly how I was. It’s like the First Spinjitzu Master is showing me what I lost.”

Jay shook his head and asked, “What do you do to get imprisoned?”

Jay-2 stopped and walked up to Jay before grabbing his collar and stating, “Don’t ask me that.”

Jay-2 let go of Jay as he went into a coughing fit. Jay-2 sat on his bed and continued his hacking fit. Jay slowly walked over to pat Jay-2’s back to help with the coughing. However, Jay-2 objected.

“Get away from me.” Jay-2 smeared as he swatted Jay’s hand away.

“Are you ok?” Jay pondered.

Jay-2 glared at Jay, “Do I look ok to you?”

Jay-2 finally got his breathing under control and Jay hesitantly asked, “Does the prison know what’s wrong with you?”

Jay-2 rubbed his eyes, “My Kai is what’s wrong with me. He’s the one that did this to me.”

Jay’s eyes widened with surprise, “Kai-2? What did he do to you?”

“I don’t need you to be nosy.” Jay-2 asserted.

“In order to seek your identity, you have to focus on yourself.” Jay replied.

Jay-2 looked at Jay with a little disdain in his eyes, “I don’t know what fake motivational speaker fed that to you, but that means nothing to me. Besides, it’s not like my identity matters.”

“It does to me.” Jay argued.

Jay-2 slowly stood up off of the bed, “Why? Because we’re doppelgangers? You think that because we share the same face, we’re supposed to be friends? Don’t kid yourself.”

“Well, maybe I just care about you as a person.” Jay challenged, “Maybe I still think your identity is important even if we aren’t dopplegangers.”

Jay-2 didn’t look amused at all, “ No, it’s not. I’m here in this cell forever, and that’s all you need to know about my identity.”

“Is that why there’s no vengestone in here?” Jay asked, “Because you won’t even try to escape?”

Jay knew that there was no Vengestone in the room because he still felt the electricity flowing through him, waiting for his beck and call. 

Jay-2 interrupted Jay’s thoughts by saying, “I couldn’t use my powers if I tried. Not that it’d be worth a damn.”

Jay looked at Jay-2, “Why are you like this? So...broken?”

Jay-2 ignored Jay’s inquiry and asked a question of his own, “Why are you here?”

“I wanted to find out what happened to you.” Jay explained.

“Hmm, and here I was thinking they all forgot about me.” Jay-2 muttered, “I kinda wish they would. It’d be easier.”

“So what did happen to you?” Jay asked again.

“Nadakhan happened, the ninja happened, Kai happened, and Cole happened.” Jay-2 claimed.

“Nadakhan? The ninja and Cole?” Jay tried to wrap his head around what he just heard, “No, there’s no way that any version of Cole would do anything bad to any version of us.”

“I used to think the same thing,” Jay-2 noted, “so i’m not surprised at how naive you are. You’ll see, the ninja don’t care about you, Cole doesn’t care about you. And if you don’t believe me, ask my Cole what happened and see how long it takes for him to act as if he did nothing.”

Jay was about to counter when his comms went off and Kai-2’s voice filled his ears.

“Jay, we’re leaving so finish what you have to say and then you, Cole, and Zane should meet us at the front gates.” 

Then Kai-2 spoke in a hushed tone, “And hurry up, some of these guards are corrupt.”

Kai-2 ended the communication and turned to Jay-2, but his doppleganger was already speaking up.

“Go, go with your friends.” Jay-2 instructed, “And don’t ever bother me again.”

The next day

The monastery was quiet as the clock struck 12:00 p.m. Zane launched another arrow into his target as he thought about the meeting last night. The prison was infiltrated by Kai-3 and the Legion and Jay had met Jay-2. Zane’s arrow missed it’s target as Zane thought back to the events that led to Jay being incarcerated. Judging by Jay’s demeanor towards Kai-2 and Cole-2, Zane would be inclined to guess that Jay-2 gave him at least a few hints about what happened between the three ninjas. It was only a matter of time before someone broke and revealed what happened to Jay-2.  
Zane aimed another arrow at the target but was stopped when a throwing knife was embedded into it. Zane turned around to find Pixal beside him as she threw another knife at the target. 

“You seem distracted.” Pixal noted.

“Is there anything I could help you with?” Zane questioned.

“I was wondering if you would like to learn to connect to the internet.” Pixal asked. 

“No.” Zane bluntly responded.

Pixal looked a little surprised, “No?”

“No.” Zane confirmed, “At least, not yet.”

“Oh.” Pixal started, “My apologies, I did not mean to pressure you.”

“It’s not that.” Zane assured, “I just–I know that i’m not human, the thought of connecting to the internet just reminds me of that unfortunate truth.”

“I understand.” Pixal replied, “The offer still stands should you chose it.”

Pixal started walking away when Zane called out, "Pixal,"

Pixal turned around and Zane continued, "May we exchange phone numbers? Just so I could reach you if necessary?"

Pixal walked back over to Zane as he pulled out his phone, "My 'phone' as you would call it is inside my head, to explain it in the simplest of terms. But yes, I would be glad to do so."

The two exchanged phone numbers and Zane thanked Pixal.

Pixal walked away and Zane heard a voice behind him, “Still questioning your humanity?”

Zane didn’t have to turn around to recognize Cole’s voice. 

“Don’t worry,” Cole started as he walked up to Zane, “It takes a while to get used to.”

Cole looked at Zane’s bow, “Mind if I take a shot?”

Zane nodded and handed Cole his bow and quiver. Cole put on the quiver and took aim with the bow. Cole took aim and fired the shot. The arrows flew at the target and barely landed on the outer rim. 

“Here, let me assist you.” Zane suggested. 

Zane grabbed the bow and held it up to Cole, so he could see where to aim. 

“Position your feet parallel to each other and shoulder length apart.” Zane instructed as he got behind Cole.

The earth ninja felt Zane’s hand brush against his own as they both held the bow up. He was suddenly aware of all the places that the two men were pressing against each other. 

“Take aim, Zane started, “and when you have your target in sight, exhale before you fire the arrow.” 

Cole pulled the arrow back and took aim. 

“Adjust the trajectory of the arrow.” Zane instructed as he reached over and helped Cole aim the bow.

As Zane’s fingers brushed against his own, Cole felt shivers and down his back and he suddenly felt really comfortable. He couldn’t explain it but the physical contact with the Ice ninja made him feel good.  
Cold did as Zane suggested and let out of breath before shooting the arrow. It hit the center of the target with precision and accuracy. 

“There you go.” Zane said, “It's all in the breathing and the footwork.” 

Cole turned around and looked Zane in the eyes and reflected on what just happened. He thought about the warmth, the comfort, the nervousness the Ice ninja had just caused him to feel. He thought about how close Zane was to him.  
Cole realized that he was staring at Zane and turned away before the ice ninja could see his cheeks blushing. 

“Are you all right, Cole?” Zane asked. 

“Yeah Yeah, I'm fine.” Cole started. 

He turned around to face Zane, only to be distracted by the emergence of the hallucination of his Zane. Cole and the hallucination of Zane stared at each other for what seemed like a few minutes until the Quasiverse Zane tapped on his shoulder. 

“Cole, what is the issue? Is something wrong?” 

Cole blinked really hard. And when he opened his eyes, the hallucination was gone. 

“What is going on?” Zane asked. “And don't tell me that it's nothing. You are increasingly distracted, your skin is slightly tinted, and if I had to take a guess, you've been having cold sweats.” 

Zane grabbed Cole’s arm, which sends shivers throughout the Earth ninja's body. 

“What's bothering you?” Zane pleaded, “Please tell me.”

Cole took a deep breath, “When we were busting that drug lab, I think I...breathed in some of the drugs.”

Zane’s eyes widened, “Inhaled? We need to get you tested and check this instant. Have you experienced temporary confusion, staring spells, uncontrollable movements of the arms and legs, or Loss of consciousness recently?”

“What? No, i’m fine.” Cole insisted, “I’ve been...distracted lately but i’m fine. I just need to wait it out.”

Zane kitted his eyebrows, “Cole, are you aware that Black Mask’s drug is supposed to be injected, not inhaled, correct?”

“Like I said, i’m fine.” Cole declared, “Look, if something happens, you’ll be the first one I go to.”

Cole gave Zane back his bow and tried to walk off. However, Zane grabbed his arm with enough strength to remind the Earth ninja of his robotic nature.

Zane stared daggers into Cole’s eyes and uttered, “Promise?”

“I promise.” Cole hesitantly lied.

Zane relaxed and let go of Cole, “You better, I'd prefer that nothing happened to you.”

Cole nodded and then walked away. Cole knew he probably should’ve told Zane about his hallucinations but his Zane was a sore subject between the two of them. The last time the Original Zane came up, it almost broke apart their relation– friendship, Cole meant friendship. The point was that now that he and Zane were in a good place again, Cole didn’t want to do anything to ruin it. He had a feeling that telling Zane that he was hallucinating his Zane would cause a lot of unnecessary concern from Zane. And so, Cole resolved to wait and tough it out, as he did with all of his problems, ok most of them. It was at that moment that Cole realized that he cared about Quasiverse Zane more than he realized, he definitely cared to risk his health at least.

“Cole.” Jay declared as Cole passed him by, “Where’s Cole-2?!”

“Uh, in the kitchen.” Cole answered, “Is everything ok?”

Jay walked to the kitchen without replying to Cole’s question. Jay burst open through the door and found a tired Cole-2 preparing a banana smoothie.

“We need to talk.” Jay declared.

Cole-2 looked at Jay with bags under his eyes, “Not now, Jay. Nya’s having mood swings and the baby won’t stop kicking, i’m a little busy.”

Cole-2 poured the smoothie into a cup and started walking out of the kitchen.

“I talked to Jay-2.” Jay announced, “What did you do to him?”

Cole-2 immediately stopped and turned to face Jay, “What? Who let you do that?”

Jay crossed his arms, “That’s not the point–”

“Who. Let. You. Do that?” Cole-2 asked, trying to keep his voice down.

“Kai-2.” Jay spat out.

“What the hell is wrong with him?” Cole-2 muttered under his breath.

Cole-2 started walking out the kitchen but Jay grabbed his arm, “Where are you going?”

Cole-2 turned around to Jay, “My wife is in my room threatening to someone if she doesn’t get this smoothie. My son is constantly kicking her and i’m getting woken up every time it happens. We’ll talk later but if you don’t let go of me, i’m going to tell my Nya that you’re the reason she didn’t get her smoothie.”

Jay considered his chances against Nya-2 and reluctantly let go of Cole-2’s arm, “Fine. but don’t think that this is over.”

Cole-2 ignored as he made his way to the room, another thing to worry about. Nya-2, the baby, the mood swings, the kicking, and now jay pestering him about stuff that wasn’t his business? It was a lot to handle. He knew that his wife had it worse, but that didn’t mean that things were a walk in the park for him either. Cole-2 lost focus and almost phased through the floor. He shook himself awake and then hurried to his room, he really needed some sleep soon. Cole-2 entered the room and handed Nya-2 her drink.

“Yes!” Nya-2 said as she took a big gulp of the smoothie.

As soon as Cole-2 sat on their bed, Nya-2 expressed a look of disgust.

“This isn’t strawberry.” Nya-2 complained.

Cole-2 sat up and took the cup, “I’ll go make another one.”

“I don’t know why it’s so hard to make a smoothie.” Nya-2 commented.

“I said I’ll make another one.” Cole-2 offered as he rubbed his eyes.

“It’s a smoothie, it’s easy.” Nya-2 commented.

“I’m going right now.” Cole-2 replied, a little impatience in his voice.

“...Well can you hurry up? I’m really thirsty.” Nya-2 claimed.

“Give me a second.” Cole-2 warned.

“A second for what?” Nya-2 challenged, “You’re not doing anything else today.”

“Hold. On.” Cole-2 gritted between his teeth.

“Hold on for what? You to ruin another smoo–”

“Would you just give me a second?” Cole-2 snapped.

Cole-2 immediately regretted his mini outburst as Nya-2 looked down with her eyes watering and her lips quivering. Cole-2’s heart was weighed down with guilt as he set the smoothie and rushed to Nya-2’s side.

“Oh god, i’m so sorry baby.” Cole-2 started, “I didn’t mean it.”

Nya-2 started crying and sobbed, “I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry. You’re being so nice to me and i’m yelling at you for no reason.”

Cole-2 hugged Nya-2, “Hey, it’s ok. Remember what the doctor said? You’re in your third trimester, you’re gonna have mood swings. But I shouldn’t have snapped you.”

Nya-2 squeezed Cole-2 tight as she continued crying, “I’m sorry.”

“No, i’m sorry.” Cole-2 insisted, “I don't know how much pain and aching you’re going through, but it’s almost over.”

Nya-2 started calming herself down as Cole-2 continued, “Hey, remember what we planned for when little Colson is born? You, me, Kai, Skylor, and Maya, we’ll all head over to my dad’s house for his first Christmas? And him and Maya growing up together? Maybe he’ll have earth powers or water. And he’s gonna make us so proud of him?”

Nya-2 sat back as her eyes dried and grinned a little, “He’s gonna be so handsome, like you.”

“He’ll have your eyes.” Cole-2, “And he, and you, will be the best things to ever happen to me.”

Nya-2 looked down at herself and claimed, “I don’t ever wanna do this again.”

Cole-2 chuckled a little, “If that’s what you want.”

Nya-2 smiled before taking Cole-2’s hand, “Hey, i’m sorry if I go a little crazy again.”

“It’s not your fault.” Cole-2 responded.

“I know,” Nya-2 confirmed, “but i’m still sorry. I couldn’t do this without your help.”

Cole-2 smiled, “Yeah you could.”

“Probably.” Nya-2 finished before reflecting on their conversation, “By the way, we’re not naming him Colson.”

Cole-2 sat down on the bed and laid next to Nya-2, “No?”

“No. It’s even worse than Cole j.r.” Nya-2 explained, “I was thinking something simple, like Steven.”

“Nah, what about Rocky?” 

Nya-2 arched an eyebrow at Cole-2, “i’m just going to assume that was a joke because I will die before you name him Rocky.”

“Fine.” Cole-2 hesitated before cautiously asking, “What about Jay?”

Nya-2 turned to face her husband, “Jay?”

“Yeah, Jay.” Cole-2 affirmed, “I like it.”

“I don’t know.” Nya-2 rebuked, “It doesn’t feel right.”

“I guess.” Cole-2 somberly replied.

Silence

Finally, Nya-2 offered, “What about Jason?”

“Jason.” Cole-2 repeated to himself.

“His name would be Jason but it still has ‘Jay’ in it, so he’d still be named after Jay.” Nya-2 explained, “And Jay would make a cute nickname.”

Cole-2 thought it over, “Cole Smith, Nya Smith, Jason Smith. I like it...I really like it.”

“Me too.” Nya-2 said with a smile.

“So that’s his name.” Cole-2 said as he softly pressed his head to Nya-2’s belly, “Jason. That’s your name, do you like it? If we name you Jason, will you stop kicking mommy?”

“Hopefully.” Nya-2 muttered as she shifted herself.

"I think you should tell Jay about Jay-2." Nya-2 stated, "It is his doppleganger, can you blame him for wanting to know what happened?"

Cole-2 sighed, "He already met him at the prison."

Nya-2 held Cole-2's hands, "Maybe if you opened up about it, it'd help find you some closure."

"I'll think about it." Cole-2 claimed, "Maybe you are right though. Besides he won't stop bugging me until I tell him."

"I think it'd be good for you." Nya-2 added.

Cole-2 sighed, "Alright, i'll tell him."

Cole-2 laid beside Nya-2 and took in the reality of how close his son was to being born.

“Cole?” Nya-2 quietly asked.

“...Do you still want the strawberry smoothie?” Cole asked with a smile.

“Yeah.”

Cole-2 kissed Nya-2 and got up, taking the smoothie cup to the kitchen. Cole-2 walked into the kitchen and passed Kai-2 as he walked out with some coffee.

“You good? you look tired” Kai-2 observed.

“Yeah,” Cole-2 started, “it’d be nice if your nephew would stop kicking my wife though.”

Kai-2 kicked his shoulders, “not my fault he got your leg strength. Maybe he’ll be the master of earth. But hey, if you need some rest, I can help. I remember when Skylor was pregnant...”

Kai-2 trailed off as he thought about his own lost child. Where was she? Was she safe? Was she alright? Ronin said that he gave her to his boss, so Kai-3 had her. But why would he want an infant? Was he hurting her?

Cole-2 grabbed Kai-2 by the shoulders, “Hey, it’ll be alright. We’ll find her, I promise you that we’ll find her.”

Kai-2 smiled but it failed to hide the sorrow, “Yeah, I hope.”

Ki-2 took a deep breath and exited the kitchen, leaving Cole-2 to worry about him. He walked into the hallway, only to bump into Kai. 

“Oh, sorry.” Kai-2 offered as he scooted past Kai.

“Fucking moron.” Kai muttered under his breath.

Kai-2 stopped and turned around, “What the hell is your problem with me?”

Just then Nya entered the hallway to see what the commotion was.

“Aw, what’s the matter?” Kai teased, “Mr. Perfect can’t take some harsh language?”

“How childish are you?” Kai-2 asked, “Whatever issues you have, you don’t get to take them out on me.” 

“Maybe my problem is you.” Kai spat back.

Kai-2 sighed and then regained his composure, “If this is how you act then it’s no wonder you’re not a ninja.”

Kia was clearly taken aback by that comment, “You know what? Fuck you.” 

Kai stormed off and Kai-2 looked at Nya, “What was that?”

Nya sighed and looked back at Kai-2. 

“That was my brother projecting,” Nya explained, “Come on, let's take a walk.”

Kai-2 set his coffee down on a counter and then he and Nya walked outside the monastery. They started walking along one of the paths and Kai-2 spoke up.

“Why doesn’t Kai like me?” Kai-2 asked, “Did I do something?”

Nya sighed, “I know Kai better than anyone else, even himself. Kai’s made mistakes, and I think that he doesn’t believe he deserves to be a ninja.”

“Ok, but what’s that got to do with me?” Kai-2 asked, “I don’t need us to be best friends but it's irritating when i’m trying to find my evil doppelganger and my daughter but my supposedly good  
doppelganger is a thorn in my side.”

“It’s got everything to do with you.” Nya explained, “You’re the Green ninja, you’re happily married to Skylor with a daughter, and your team still has Zane alive. You’re perfect to Kai.”

“I’m not perfect.” Kai-2 claimed as he kicked a small rock down the path.

“But Kai doesn’t know that.” Nya started, “He’s only focusing on the bad parts of himself and the good parts of you. He convinces himself that he’s unfit to be a ninja and then finds out that his doppleganger is the Green ninja, it’s like the universe spit in his face. You’re everything Kai wants to be but doesn’t think he can be.”

Kai-2 stopped walking as they circled back to the monastery, “So how do I show him that i’m not his enemy?”

“Just be there, Kai values loyalty.” Nya answered, “Once he knows you won’t sell him out or throw him away, Kai will warm up to you.”

Kai-2 stopped at the door and opened it for Nya, “Thank you.”

“I know he can be a pain.” Nya started as she walked through the door, “But he is a good friend to have.”

Kai-2 walked into the monastery and found Lloyd sitting on the couch.

“We need to talk.” Lloyd claimed.

Kai-2 sighed, he hoped he didn’t have to have talks with all the ninja today, “Let me get my coffee.”

Lloyd followed Kai-2 as he grabbed his coffee and then led them into his and Skylor-2’s room. Lloyd shut the door behind them and turned to face Kai-2.

“What’d you want to talk about?” Kai-2 asked as he sipped his now cold coffee.

“Why didn’t you tell me about draining the energy out of people?” Lloyd asked.

Kai-2 set his coffee down, “I...I didn’t want you to make the same mistake I did.”

Lloyd sat down in a chair, “Mistake? Was that what Cole-2 was talking about when you tried to drain Ronin-3?”

Kai-2 thought back to that encounter and lowered his head, “If you're careful, you can drain enough energy just to knock out someone. It was the easiest way to knock thugs, and usually they can  
get back the energy later on by eating. It was my go-to move.”

“What happened?” Lloyd asked.

“It was an accident.” Kai-2 explained, “I went to knock them out and they attacked me, it made me lose my focus and I drained most of their energy. But they never recovered, the energy wasn’t being replenished like it should’ve. It was like–” Kai-2 sighed to himself before continuing, “–it was like I took a part of his soul.”  
Lloyd’s eyes widened as he looked at his own hands, “Absorbing part of a soul? Is that even possible?”

Kai-2 shrugged, “I don’t know. I went on a pilgrimage to learn how to restore him back to his regular self. I know how to do it but I still don’t understand it. What I do know is that I never used my absorption powers on anyone again, well not until Ronin-3.”

“Who was it?” Lloyd asked.

“...Jay.” Kai-2 confessed, “It was my Jay.”

Lloyd shifted in his seat, he was starting to wish that he had met Jay-2 with Jay.

“He won’t let you restore him?” Lloyd questioned.

“No.” Kai-2 confirmed, “He doesn’t trust me, I don’t blame him.”

Lloyd processed this information as Kai-2 continued, “Lloyd, you have to understand, draining someone of their energy is way too easy to do. I lost focus for one second and almost killed Jay-2. Absorbing energy with people, or living things in general, it’s just best not try it.”

Lloyd listened to what Kai-2 had told him and then stood up. Lloyd walked out of the room and turned around to face Kai-2.

“Thank you for being honest with me.” Lloyd said before he shut the door on Kai-2.

Three days later

Kai stretched his legs and sat down on the couch in the reception area. He, Cole, and Cole-2 were currently at Borg Tower and waiting to get an audience with Cyrus Borg-2. Apparently he decided that meeting with the ninja wasn’t important enough to cancel his meeting, even after Kai-2 called ahead and told him about the multiple timelines and doppleganger situation.  
Cole-2 was right outside the building and was on the phone. Cole sat right next to him and was staring straight ahead at nothing like his life depended on it. 

Kai looked where Cole was looking and then frowned, “What are you looking at?”

Cole shook himself out of his stare, “Nothing.”

Kai looked at Cole, “Hey, you good Cole? You're looking a little pale.”

“I’m fine.” Cole insisted, “Just a little tired.”

“You sure?” Kai asked, “You look kinda shitty.”

Cole rolled his eyes before coughing a little, “Yeah, i’m sure.”

Kai decided to leave it at that and a few minutes later, a secretary entered the reception area.

“I have a um…” The secretary double checked his notes, “Ninja for Mr. Borg.”

Kai looked at Cole, “I’ll go get Cole-2.”

Kai got up and walked outside the building. Cole-2 was pacing around and Kai could tell he was getting chewed out by Nya-2. She was yelling so loudly that Kai could hear exactly what she was saying over the phone.

“I’ve had this baby inside me for seven months and you even get me a sandwich?!” Nya-2 cried out over the phone.

Cole-2 saw Kai and hushed his voice, “Honey, i’m on a mission right no–”

“Don’t give me that bullshit, Cole!” Nya-2 interrupted, “You did this to me, you made me a pregnant whale!”

“We got called to meet Cyrus Borg-2” Kai cut in. 

“Nya, i've gotta go.” Cole said.

“Don’t you hang up on me, Cole!” Nya demanded, “This is your fault Cole, YOUR FAULT–”

Cole winced as he ended the call.

“She’s gonna kill you.” Kai claimed as he and Cole-2 entered the building.

“I know.” Cole-2 replied.

Cole-2 and Kai joined Cole and the Secretary as they entered the elevator. While they headed to Cyrus Borg-2’s office, the secretary took a look at Kai.

“Are you sure you’re a ninja?”

Kai couldn’t blame the Secretary for being suspicious, both Coles were wearing their ninja gi while Kai was wearing black denim jeans, a white t-shirt, and a red leather jacket.

“I’m with the ninja.” Kai corrected.

That seemed to satisfy the Secretary and he left Kai alone. A few moments later, the elevator stopped and everyone stepped into Cyrus Borg-2’s office.

“Sir,” The Secretary started, “The ninja are here to meet with you.”

Cyrus Borg-2 came out of his office on a floating chair and sighed, “Ninja, always interrupting my work. Let’s get this over with.”

The Secretary returned to his office as the ninja followed Cyrus Borg-2 into his office.

“Cyrus Borg,” Cole-2 started, “We have reason to believe that someone is going to try to kidnap you.”

Cyrus Borg-2 rolled his eyes, “Let me guess, another elemental master or some version of the Overlord?”

“He’s an evil elemental master.” Kai explained, “He’s my doppelganger and he’s extremely dangerous. We think he’s going to try to abduct you.”

“We can protect you.” Cole claimed, “We can hide you somewhere safe.”

Cyrus Borg-2 didn’t even hesitate before responding, “No.”

Kai frowned, “What the hell do you mean, No?”

Cyrus Borg-2 rolled his eyes, “I mean ‘No’. I’m not trusting any of you ninja with my life.” 

Cole-2 looked at the other ninja before saying, “Mr. Borg, I really must insist. This guy is deadly and very capable. We think he might have part of the prison under his control. You can’t protect yourself, we can.”

Cyrus Borg-2 turned to Cole-2, “You ninja always invite evil and my life and the lives of everyone in this city is always threatened because you and your master can’t ever just beat a villain. You always let me get kidnapped and let civilians get killed and almost have the villains win before you decide to get your act together. Do I even need to remind you how your Lightning ninja destroyed our city?” 

Cole and Kai looked at each other at the mention of Jay-2 destroying Ninjago City. Yet Cyrus Borg-2 continued his rant.

“You’re all incompetent and incapable and you expect me to trust you with my life? I’d rather take my chances on my own.”

Cyrus Borg-2 finished his rant and then addressed all the ninja, “You all can go now.”

Cole stepped forward, “You know you can’t protect yourself. You need us.”

Cyrus Borg-2 looked unconvinced, “If I need someone to make things worse, I’ll call you. Now go, before I call security.”

“Fuck you man.” Kai exclaimed as he and the other ninja left Cyrus Borg-2’s office. 

When they got to the first floor, Cole-2 stepped outside to call an uber while Cole pulled Kai back.

“What’d you mean by you’re ‘with the ninja’?” Cole asked Kai.

Kai shrugged, “That I was with you.”

Cole pursed his lips, “Look Kai, I don’t know what’s going on with you. But you are a ninja, even if you don’t want to be one.”

“It has nothing to do with want,” Kai claimed, “It’s more about deserving, and some thug doesn’t…” Kai took a deep breath and looked down, “doesn’t deserve to be a ninja.”  
Cole hugged Kai, “you’re not a thug, you’re my brother, don’t think that what you did changes that.”  
Kai let Cole hug him a little longer before shoving him off of him, “Let’s make a deal. I won’t bug you about whatever’s making you sick and you don’t bug me about not being a ninja.”

Kai then rushed outside to join Cole-2 before Cole could speak up.

A week later 

Kai-2, Skylor-2, Zane, Lloyd, and Skylor walked through the prison, keeping an eye out for any and all guards that might give them trouble. Zane led the way as he used a copy of the prison schematics to locate a possible location for a safe house.  
Skylor didn’t like their position. The group of ninja couldn’t take out all of the guards if they attacked. Kai-2 was barely able to avoid any legal drama with the two guards that Dareth-2 beat up when they went to speak with Morro. Skylor turned around to check behind her and winced as she felt a sharp pain from her still recovering wound. It was just another reminder that she wasn’t fully recovered yet.  
Zane turned the corner to a run down section of the prison and started tapping on a wall.

“There should, in theory, be an office sized room behind this wall.” Zane claimed as he handed the schematics to Kai-2.

Zane continued tapping along the wall until he came across a hollow part. Zane grinned as he pulled out an arrow and carved out that chunk of the wall and peered into the opening.  
There appeared to be a room behind the wall, though it was too small to make out any detail. 

“I believe that this is the safe house.” Zane announced.

“So how do we get into it?” Kai-2 asked.

“Voice recognized.” A robotic voice announced, causing all the ninja to jump in surprise, “Welcome back Kai.”

As soon as the robotic voice was done, the wall that Zane had poked split in half and started shifting opposite of each other. The left part of the wall went left and the right part of the wall went right. The wall opened up to reveal the safe house.  
The room was small enough that only about three people could fit in it. The wall that opposed the opening of the room was completely covered in monitors and a large computer.

“I guess Kai-3 wanted his own Bat computer.” Skylor muttered.

The left wall was covered with weapons, primarily katanas. The right wall had first aid kits and various pieces of gear. The floor was on the dirty side and it was clear that no one had been here in a while.

“I was expecting something a little bigger.” Lloyd expressed.

Kai-2 cautiously stepped into the small safe house and examined the computer. Both Sklyors looked at each other before stepping into the safe house as well. 

“Guys,” Zane started, “we need to remain vigilant with this safe–”

Zane was cut off, however, as the opening to the safe house suddenly closed, trapping Kai-2, Skylor-2, and Skylor in its confines.

“Son of a bitch.” Kai-2 called out before banging on the wall, “Lloyd, Zane! Can you hear me?”

“No, they can't.” a voice called out.

Kai-2, Skylor, and Skylor-2 all turned around to find that the computer monitor was on and showing the face of Kai-3.

“I should’ve figured you would’ve gone to Morro.” Kai-3 started, “Alas, it doesn’t matter anyways.”

“Where is my daughter you fucker?!” Skylor-2 demanded to know.

“Safe,” Kai-3 answered, “for now.”

Kai-3 then turned to Skylor, “How’s the wound healing? If I’d known that you’d survive my Ronin’s assassination attempt, I would’ve came and killed you myself.”

Skylor felt a chill run down her back to her bullet wound, “I’m right here, come try it.”

“Be careful what you ask for.” Kai-3 sadistically teased, “Your Samurai engaged me with similar enthusiasm and she nearly died for it.”

“I’m not so easily broken.” Skylor claimed.

“Is that so?” Kai-3 chided, “Do you know why I had Ronin target you specifically?”

“We don’t need to hear your lies.” Kai-2 tried to interrupt.

“Why?” Skylor asked.

“Because you simply weren’t important enough.” Kai-3 answered, “I had hoped that your death, combined with Maya’s kidnapping, would be enough to push the ninja into destroying each other because they’d be threats to my cause. But you? You're not a real ninja, you’re not even a true threat. You’re just a temporary replacement for the real Fire ninja. You’re a footnote, you’re nothing.”

Skylor went quiet and Skylor-2 spoke up, “He’s wrong about you, Skylor. He’s just trying to get in your head.”

“No, I'm not.” Kai-3 asserted, “You see, i’ve been watching all of you for the past year. I know each and everyone of you. I know your strengths, your weaknesses, everything. So trust me when I say that Skylor has silenced herself because she accepts that I speak the truth.”

“What do you want?” Kai-2 asked, trying to change the subject for Skylor’s sake.

“A trade.” Kai-3 explained, “Maya for Cyrus Borg. You hand him over and you get your daughter back.”

“What do you want with him?” Skylor-2 asked.

“That’s none of your concern.” Kai-3 offered, “All that matters is that i’m giving you the opportunity to get your daughter back.”

For Kai-3, it wasn’t even debatable, “No.”

“No?” Skylor-2 asked, “Hold on, let’s talk about this for a second.”

“No,” Kai-2 confirmed, “Whatever Kai-3 wants with Cyrus Borg, it can’t be good.”

“So?” Skylor-2 challenged, “We can stop him. Let’s bring Maya home.”

Kai-2 turned away from Skylor-2, unable to look her in the eye. He wanted nothing more than to bring his daughter home, but Kai-3 was evil. If he got a hold of someone like Cyrus Borg, who knew what he’d be capable of. As far as he knew, cooperating with Kai-3 could do more harm than good.

“No,” Kai-2 said firmly, “it’s too risky. We’ll bring Maya home, and we’ll stop you while doing so.”

“Kai!” Skylor-2 yelled.

Kai-3 chuckled, “Is that supposed to shake me to my core? I’ve been planning this campaign for the last year, it’s everything to me right now. I have back-up plans for my back-up plans. I have people in places for later usage. I’m going to get Cyrus Borg with or without your help. I hope you’re able to accept the fate you gave your daughter.”

With that, Kai-3 disappeared from the monitor and the wall opened back up. 

“Are you guys alright?” Lloyd asked.

Skylor-2 stormed past Lloyd and headed to the edge of the prison. Kai-2 chased after her.

“Skylor, wait.” Kai-2 called out as he caught up to his wife, “Skylor, I know you’re mad but you know it’s the better option.”

Skylor-2 turned around and pushed Kai-2 back, “God damnit Kai, she’s OUR daughter, not yours!”

Kai-2 stepped away from Skylor-2, “I know that. But we have to think this through. Cyrus Borg can make anything he wants to. If Kai-3 got to him, there’s no telling what he could do.”

“I don’t care.” Skylor-2 declared, “That decision wasn’t for you to make on your own. If anything happens to Maya, i’m blaming you.”

With that, Skylor-2 walked off, leaving Kai-2 behind her.

The next day

After a very tense meeting, mostly due to Kai-2 and Skylor-2, the ninja had decided to bug the safe house in case Kai-3 went back to it. In addition, the ninja had also agreed to keep surveillance on Cyrus Borg-2 just in case anything happened to him. A few hours had passed and Zane was looking for Cole. Zane walked into the lounge room and found Jay sitting down playing video games.

Zane approached Jay, “Pardon me, Jay, but would you happen to know where Cole is?” 

Jay paused his game, “He should be in your room.”

“Much appreciated.” Zane responded as Cole-2 entered the lounge room.

“Jay, I think it’s time we talked.” Cole-2 said.

Zane walked out of the lounge room and made his way to his room. Zane approached the door and knocked on it to make sure Cole wasn’t in any compromising positions. After hearing no response, Zane opened the door only to find Cole collapsed on the ground. Zane immediately panicked as he ran to Cole’s side.

“Cole!” Zane cried out as he checked his pulse.

Cole’s heart rate increased enough to worry Zane. Zane pulled out his phone and called Pixal.

“Pixal, I need your help, something is wrong with Cole! We’re in my room. Hurry!” 

As Zane spoke into his phone, Cole started jerking uncontrollably. A seizure. Zane dropped his phone and rolled Cole over to the side to open up his airways. A few seconds later, Pixal rushed in and went to work.

“This is a tonic-clonic seizure.” Pixal started, “Zane, I need you to clear anything and everything out of the way. We have to wait it out until he recovers.”

Pixal started timing the lengths in between Cole’s convulsions while Zane quickly did what he was asked. Zane finished his task and waited helplessly as his friend laid there unable to do anything. After about five minutes Pixal spoke up.

“He should regain consciousness soon. Then we can give him proper aid.” Pixal assured Zane.

A few more minutes passed and Cole was still unresponsive. 

“Something’s wrong.” Pixal claimed, her voice had a hint of panic in it, “We need to get him to the Medbay right now.”

Zane hurriedly scooped up Cole and cautiously but quickly made his way to the Medbay room with Pixal following him.

Jay was in the middle of a boss fight when Zane approached him, “Pardon me, Jay, but would you happen to know where Cole is?” 

Jay paused his game, a little annoyed, “He should be in your room.”

“Much appreciated.” Zane responded as Cole-2 entered the lounge room.

“Jay, I think it’s time we talked.” Cole-2 said as Zane left the lounge room, “We need to talk about Jay-2.”

Jay looked at Cole-2 before shutting off his game and following Cole-2’s lead. The two ninja walked outside the monastery and sat down at one of the porches. For once, Jay remained silent as Cole-2 spoke up.

Cole-2 took a deep breath, “I was hoping that you wouldn’t meet my Jay. But you did, and looking back, maybe I should have been honest with you from the beginning. I need to fix that. Jay, I know you have a lot of questions, so i’m going to tell you all of it. I’m going to tell you what happened to my Jay.”

Jay paused his game, a little annoyed, “He should be in your room.”

“Much appreciated.” Zane responded as Cole-2 entered the lounge room.

“Jay, I think it’s time we talked.” Cole-2 said as Zane left the lounge room, “We need to talk about Jay-2.”

Jay looked at Cole-2 before shutting off his game and following Cole-2’s lead. The two ninja walked outside the monastery and sat down at one of the porches. For once, Jay remained silent as Cole-2 spoke up.

Cole-2 took a deep breath, “I was hoping that you wouldn’t meet my Jay. But you did, and looking back, maybe I should have been honest with you from the beginning. I need to fix that. Jay, I know you have a lot of questions, so i’m going to tell you all of it. I’m going to tell you what happened to my Jay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, since we're halfway through I was wondering if you had any questions about the story, compliments, or complaints/critiques. I'm trying to get a good sense of what's working and what can be improved going into the back half of the story. 
> 
> The next two chapters will be flashbacks that detail how Jay-2 in his position, i'll see you all then!


	11. What Ever Happened to Jay Walker? Part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We find out what happened to Jay-2. Part 1 of 2

Zane sat in the chair, hoping that Cole would wake up soon. They were in the Medbay room now. After Pixal and Zane had stabilized Cole, Pixal went to do some tests, leaving Zane with his ill friend. Zane took a look at Cole. His black hair was frizzled and his skin was still pale. Yet, he looked peaceful, more peaceful than Zane had seen him. It was crazy how close Zane had felt to Cole when they’d only know each other for about two months.   
Zane thought about his time with Cole so far, the kindness he showed him upon finding out that he was a nindroid, his humor, and enthusiasm. In general, Zane felt that Cole’s laid back attitude was a great compliment to his more serious nature.

Pixal walked in the Medbay room and shut the door behind her, “Any changes?”

“No.” Zane answered, “Though I do believe that we should tell the ninja what happened. At least tell Jay.”

“We will, soon.” Pixal responded as she examined Cole’s electroencephalogram. 

“What’s the verdict?” Zane asked.

“As we suspected, the hallucinogenic drug which rapidly increased Cole’s brain activity.” Pixal started, “The problem is that the brain activity is dangerously high. Cole’s sedated right now but his brain activity will go up again due to the amount of the drug in his system. If we don’t find a way to lower it, Cole will be plagued by seizures, schizophrenia, early-onset alhzhimers, and...eventual neurodegeneration.”

Zane looked down at the unconscious Earth ninja, “We have to cure him”

“We will.” Pixal resolved, “But first we will need to run tests, isolate the drug, and develop an antidote that will work for Cole.”

Zane stood up, “Well what are we waiting for? Let us get started.”

Cole-2 took a deep breath, ““I was hoping that you wouldn’t meet my Jay. But you did, and looking back, maybe I should have been honest with you from the beginning. I need to fix that. Jay, I know you have a lot of questions, so i’m going to tell you all of it. I’m going to tell you what happened to my Jay.”

Cole-2 paused, not knowing where to start. There were so many things that needed to be explained before getting to Jay-2 that it’d be a little difficult. 

“Ok,” Cole-2 finally started, “It was a few months after my Wu gave his life to destroy the Overlord....”

Then

Nya-2 swatted away Jay-2’s spitball in disgust, “Jay! You’re gonna ruin my pizza.”

“Sorry,” Jay-2 offered, “I was aiming for Cole.”

Cole-2 looked offended as he covered his personal pizza, “Don’t you dare.”

Jay-2 laughed loud enough to draw attention from the other customers at the Pizza restaurant. Jay-2 had his own booth while Nya-2 and Cole-2 shared the other side, with Nya-2 on the inside. 

“We should do this more often.” Jay-2 claimed, “Just me and my two best friends hanging out and eating pizza.”

“Well maybe if you weren’t so busy working…” Nya-2 started.

“Yeah, you’re one to talk about doing stuff.” Cole-2 added, “You’re always either training or babysitting. What’re you, the only babysitter in all of Ninjago?”

“Nah, I’m just the best.” Jay-2 bragged, “And all the kids love me. What can I say? I’m great with children.”

Nya-2 rolled her eyes, “I’ll keep that in mind if I ever need a godfather or something.”

Jay-2 laughed and stooped as his face grew a little sullen.

“Jay? What’s wrong?” Cole-2 asked as he grabbed Jay-2’s hand.

Jay-2 looked at Cole-2’s hand covering his own and squeezed it. Cole-2 always made Jay-2 feel comfortable, and right now, that’s all he needed.

“I think I’m adopted.” Jay-2 announced. 

“What?” Nya-2 gasped. 

“How?” Cole-2 asked, “You’re so much like them, even when you’re trying to hide the accent.”

Jay-2 shook his head, “I don’t know. I was cleaning the house the other day. Ma and Pa were at the store and I was cleaning a closet when I found this folder. It had all this stuff, hospital records, legal paper stuff, and a certificate of adoption.”

“Oh. I’m sorry Jay.” Nya-2 said.

“I’m not.” Jay-2 started, “They’re still my parents. They raised me, they took me in, taught me everything I know. They were there for me when I came out to everyone. I know that we’re not related but I still love them.  
I just wonder why my...original parents didn’t want me.”

Cole-2 squeezed Jay-2’s hand, “Hey, don’t worry about them, it was their loss. Jay, you’re the smartest, funniest, and coolest guy I know. They don’t deserve you.”

Hearing Cole-2 talk about him like that made Jay-2’s heart flutter. That, combined with Cole-2 holding his hand, made Jay-2’s face blush a bright tomato red. Nya-2 gave him a knowing look.

“I understand how you feel, Jay. I remember blaming myself for my parents disappearing on me and Kai.” Nya-2 stated as she grabbed Jay-2’s other hand, “Even when we found out that they died, it still felt like I wasn’t wanted. So what you’re feeling, it’s normal.”

Jay-2 squeezed Nya-2’s hand, though it didn’t have the same effect as Cole-2’s hand.

“Thanks guys.” Jay-2 said before perking himself up, “But enough about me. What’s going on with you guys? Nya, has Cole asked you out yet?”

Cole-2 choked on his soda and stared daggers into Jay-2’s should before turning Nya-2, “I–I don’t know what he's talking about but he’s lying!”

Nya-2 pulled her hand away from Jay-2’s, “Stop exposing Cole. If he wants to ask me out, he will.”

Cole-2 crossed his arms, “Thank you Nya, see I– wait that’s not what I meant either.”

Jay-2 started laughing and then said, “Ok, ok. But seriously, what’s up with you guys?”

Nya-2 laid back and rolled her eyes, “Nothing much, still dealing with Kai’s ego.”

Cole-2 sighed, “He saves us all once and now he thinks he’s the best of us.”

“Well he is the Green ninja.” Jay-2 defended, “he’s supposed to be the best of us. And you gotta admit he’s gotten a lot better with his attitude.”

“True.” Nya-2 admitted, “He’s still a pain though.”

“I’m just glad he’s not putting me to sleep anymore.” Cole-2 explained, “Getting your energy drained is NOT fun.”

“Tell me about it.” Jay-2 cut in, “But you half to admit, Kai’s really tried to step up as a leader ever since Wu…ever since he died.”

The three ninja were quiet. Even after a year, Wu still leaned heavily on their mind.

“I’m gonna use the bathroom.” Cole-2 announced.

Cole-2 pulled his hand away as he got up from the booth and made his way to the restrooms. The second that Cole-2 was out of sight, Nya-2 scooted towards Jay-2. 

“Why haven’t you told me that you liked him?” Nya-2 asked.

Jay-2’s eyes widened as he came up for some explanation, “What? No I–”

“Don’t you deny it Jay Walker.” Nya-2 cut in, “I saw your eyes, you like him.”

Jay-2 knew there was no use lying anymore, “Don’t tell him.”

Nya-2 leaned forward, keeping her voice down, “I think you should ask him out.”

Jay-2 tilted his head, “I don't want to… wait, don’t you like him too?”

Nya-2 shrugged, “I’m interested but it’s nothing serious yet. Besides, I'm not going to get in the way of you two, it’s too good of a pairing to do so.” 

“No.” Jay-2 flatly answered.

“Why not? I think you two would make a cute couple.” Nya-2 claimed.

Jay-2 rolled his eyes, “One, Cole’s straight. Two, even if he weren’t, I wouldn’t try anything anyways. It’d probably ruin our friendship.”

“He might not be.” Nya-2 suggested, “He said himself that he’s questioning. And you don’t know that’d ruin your friendship. Even if things didn’t work out, it might make you two even closer friends like it did me and you.”

Jay-2 picked at his slice of pizza, “Cole’s my best friend but I think he might just mean sex with another guy when he said he’s questioning.”

“You don’t know that.” Nya-2 argued, “Just talk to him, what’s the worst that could happen?” 

“I’d lose my friend.” Jay-2 suggested, “And Cole doesn’t even like me like that.”

“Then why’d he hold your hand?” Nya-2 challenged.

“Cause I just told you two that I was adopted.”

“Is that why he held your hand all the way up until he went to the restroom?” Nya-2 smiled like she’d just gotten a checkmate on Jay-2.

“Probably because he was trying to comfort me? I don’t know.” Jay-2 answered.

“You’re right, you don’t. So just talk to him.” Nya-2 suggested.

Jay-2 sat back and thought about what Nya-2 had told him. Cole-2 did hold his hand for a suspiciously long amount of time. Though Cole was a gentle giant, so it wouldn’t be exactly out of the norm for him. Cole-2 returned back to the table and dug into another slice of pizza.

“What were you guys talking about?” Cole-2 asked, his mouth full of pizza.

“Potential headaches.” Nya-2 responded as she took a sip of her soda. 

A few months later

The ninja were celebrating the defeat of Chen at their monastery. After he lured the ninja onto his island, under the lie that Wu was alive, the ninja had their powers taken away. Luckily with the help of Skylor-2, and a surprising sacrifice made by Pythor, the ninja were able to put a stop to him and Ninjago was safe for one more day. 

Even Skylor-2 was getting in on the action as she and Kai-2 were flirting with each other in the corner. Nya-2, Zane, Cole-2, and Jay-2 were all talking amongst each other, joking, laughing, and then explaining the jokes to Zane. It was a good night, even if Nya-2 was still suspicious of Skylor-2. Even Garmadon was in good spirits, the ninja relished in the small smile he cracked during the night.   
As the night died down, the ninja returned to their various sleeping quarters. As much as Jay-2 was proud of the Bounty, it didn’t allow each of the ninja to have their own room like the monastery did.   
Jay laid back on his bed, playing a game on his phone when he received a text from Cole-2 calling him to his room. Jay-2 wondered what Cole-2 needed from him at one in the morning.   
As he snuck through the hallways, Jay-2 briefly entertained the idea that maybe Cole-2 wanted to confess his love for him. He’d be in denial of it of course. Cole-2 was practically made of muscles and his personality was the perfect mix of compassion and toughness. And Cole-2’s face, Jay-2 could spend a whole day talking about how perfect he thought it was. Jay-2 even found himself admiring the less than perfect parts of Cole-2’s face, like his wannabe stubble.  
It wasn’t even just the looks either. Cole-2 was caring and loyal to everyone he considered a friend. Cole-2 made Jay-2 feel like he genuinely mattered to him. Yeah, Cole-2 was a little tough and he could be too stubborn. But Jay-2 had no doubt that Cole-2 was one of the best people he knew.  
Jay-2 wanted nothing more than to call Cole-2 his, yet he knew that Cole-2 would never look at him like that. As much as Jay-2 didn’t want to admit it, he had nothing to offer in a relationship. He was loud, annoying, and overly talkative. He wasn’t even that good looking, he was too skinny and his ginger brown hair was always scruffy. The more he thought about it, the more Jay-2 realized that Cole-2 in a league way higher than his own. Simply put, people like Cole-2 don't waste their time on people like Jay-2.  
Jay-2 pushed those notions out of his head as he slowly opened Cole-2’s door. Jay-2 instantly regretted heeding Cole-2’s call as the Earth Ninja grinned like a mad man when he entered.

“Dude, what do you want? It’s like two in the morning, i’m tired.” Jay-2 asked, a little perturbed. 

As much as he liked Cole-2, Jay-2 had just spent the whole day installing a security camera system at his Parent’s junkyard. He mostly just wanted to go to sleep.

Cole-2 rolled his eyes, “It’s only one o’ clock drama queen. Besides–” Cole-2 reached into his backpack, “–I snuck in these.”

Jay-2 was a little shocked as Cole-2 pulled out a pack of budweisers.

“Look what I got.” Cole-2 said as he proudly showcased the alcoholic beverages.

Jay-2 smiled, he figured he wasn’t so tired after all.   
Jay-2 looked at Cole-2 and whispered, “Where’d you get these?”

“Doesn’t matter.” Cole-2 dismissed, “Want one?”

“Uh yeah.” Jay-2 answered as if it wasn’t a question.

Jay-2 made sure Cole-2’s door was locked before catching the budweiser that Cole-2 threw at him. They’d be in so much trouble if Garmadon knew about the alcohol, but neither teen cared. They’d both been talking about having their first drinks and who better to drink with than your best friend? Besides, everyone else would be too wrapped up in their own celebrations to pay Cole-2 and Jay-2 any attention.  
Cole-2 and Jay-2 opened up their can and hyped each other before taking their first swigs. Both Ninja immediately spat out their drinks and started coughing.

“That’s so awful.” Cole-2 declared.

“Why would anyone drink this?” Jay-2 pondered, “It’s nasty”

Cole-2 frowned at the aftertaste, “That was so disappointing.”

“Tell me about it.” Jay-2 confirmed, “...Wanna try it again?”

Cole-2 shrugged, “Why not, let’s do it.”

As the night went on, the two teenagers got used to the strong taste of the alcohol as they became more and more inebriated. Eventually, both Cole-2 and Jay-2 lost their inhibitions.  
Now Cole-2 and Jay-2 were laying down on Cole-2’s bed while Jay-2 rested his head on Cole-2’s stomach. 

“Cole?” Jay-2 started, “Are ya gay?”

Cole-2 took in a deep breath and started playing with Jay-2’s hair, “I don’t know. I can’t even think s-s-Straight right now.”

“Haha.” Jay-2 started, “Ya said ‘straight.”

Cole-2 pushed Jay-2 onto his bed and sat up, “You’re so wasted.”

“Y’er are too!” Jay-2

“No!” Cole-2 argued, “I’m the most soberest person here.”

Jay-2 started laughing as he sat up, “Y’er so cute when y’er drunk.”

Cole-2 started chuckling as well, “Dude, your accent’s showing.”

“And?” Jay-2 looked at Cole-2, “I know ya like it.”

Cole-2 tried to take another drink, only to drop it on the floor.

“Fine!” Cole shouted at the can, “I didn’t want you anyways!”

“Cole.” Jay-2 started, “I wants to tell ya something.” 

Cole-2 stared intensely at Jay-2 as if his life depended on it, “Is it a ssssecret?” 

Jay-2 bobbed his head around answered, “Think so, i don’t wan it to be anyone.”

Cole-2 poked Jay-2’s ribs, “Tell. Me.”

Jay-2 gabbed Cole-2’s hands and looked his best friend in the eyes, “I love ya Cole.”

Cole-2’s lips quivered as he embraced Jay-2 in a hug, “Aww, I love you too man.”

Jay-2 pushed Cole-2 away, “No I mean I LOVE love ya.”

Cole-2 seemed as if he had finally started to process what Jay-2 had confessed, “You love me? Whadaya mean you l-love me?””

“I. LOVE. YOU.” Jay-2 managed to say, “Y’er so cool and kind and handsome. Y’er always so nice me and y’er funny. And ya make me feel like I c’n be myself.”

Cole-2 blinked really hard as he tried to focus, “Jay...I–”

Jay-2 looked down, he knew he shouldn’t have said anything, “ ‘m sorry Cole, I should get outta here.”

Jay-2 and stumbled as he tried to make his way to the door.

“Wait.” Cole-2 called out as he fell on the floor trying to reach Jay-2, “Where you goin?”

“Shouldn’t’ve said anything.” Jay-2 mumbled.

Jay-2 reached the door and opened it to reveal the dark hallway. Jay-2 started walking when Cole-2 grabbed his hand.

“Wait.” Cole-2 mustered, “Please don’t go, let’s us talk.”

Jay-2 felt Cole-2 right behind and, in a moment of weakness, turned around and kissed the Earth ninja. It was a tiny peck but a kiss nonetheless. Jay-2 pulled back and waited as Cole-2 processed what happened. Then, in a surprising turn of events, Cole-2 kissed Jay-2 back. If Jay-2 didn’t feel so guilty and drunk over the situation, he’d be over the moon. Instead, he found himself feeling weird, yet in spite of it, he wanted Cole-2.

Cole-2 pulled back and stared at Jay-2, “Why did I do that?”

“Don't know.” Jay-2 said, “What’er we doin?”

“I don’t know–” Cole-2 threw his hands up and down, “Let’s jut forget dis ever happened.”

“Why’d ya kiss me if ya don’ like me?” Jay-2 asked.

“I–I–I don’t know!” Cole-2 insisted.

“...What if we, ya know, tried it again?” Jay-2 sheepishly asked.

“What?” Cole-2 asked.

“Ya said ya didn’t why ya kissed me.” Jay-2 , “What if there’s some’ing between us?”

Cole-2 just stared at Jay-2.

“Y’er right.” Jay-2 started, “It’s stupid. Just forget what I–”

“Okay.” Cole-2 agreed.

Jay-2 tiled his head, “Wah?”

“I said, OKAY.” Cole-2 repeated himself, “Let’s kisssss, let’s see what happens.”

Jay-2 felt butterflies in his stomach, both good and bad, “Ok, just one kiss.”

“Just one kiss.” Cole-2 confirmed.

Jay-2 shut and locked Cole-2’s door behind him. Then, the two ninja embraced each other.

The next morning

Cole-2 took in a deep breath as he stretched in his bed. His head was ringing and everything noise like a jackhammer was being taken to his skull. Cole-2 felt a heaviness weighing on his chest and focused on his breathing. In and out, deep breaths. He took note that he was on the edge of the bed that wasn’t against the wall. Cole-2 felt his bed shift as stretched out his legs. The bed shifted again and Cole-2 had two horrifying realizations. One, he was completely naked, and he never slept naked. Two, the shifts in the bed were definitely not his movements. Cole-2 looked at his chest and found that the heaviness was actually a sleeping Jay-2 on his chest.  
Cole-2 gasped and then covered his mouth so he wouldn’t freak out. What the hell happened last night? Why was Jay-2 in his bed? Why was he naked? Did they… Cole-2 didn’t even want to think about it. Cole-2 slowly wiggled himself away from Jay-2 to make sure he was still sleeping.   
Cole-2 landed on the floor, silent as a ninja, and quickly dressed himself. His fingers trembled as he looked at Jay-2 who looked so peaceful as he slept.   
Finding out that you slept with your best friend was a good way to clear one’s thought processes. Cole-2 stared at Jay-2 with shame as he recalled last night’s events. Yes, Jay-2 technically started it by kissing him first but Cole-2 clearly reciprocated.   
Cole-2 swallowed the knot at the back of his throat and started collecting Jay-2’s clothes off of the floor. Cole-2 tried to push back the idea of Jay-2 sleeping naked in his bed and went to wake Jay-2 up. 

Cole-2 set Jay-2’s clothes on the bed and decided that he and Jay-2 needed to talk. 

He knelt down gently poked Jay-2, “Jay? Jay, wake up.”

Jay-2 swatted Cole-2’s hand away and turned to face the wall. Cole-2 jabbed Jay-2’s bareback until the lightning ninja started stirring from his asleep. Jay-2 yawned and stretched before opening his eyes. It took Jay-2 a few seconds to realize that he was sleeping naked in Cole-2’s bed. Yet when he did, he freaked out trying to cover himself with the blanket.

“What’s going on?!” Jay-2 exclaimed, “Why am I in your bed? Why am I naked? Why am I–why am I hurting down there?”

Cole-2 looked away from Jay-2 and handed him his clothes, “Uh, I think we should talk.”

Jay-2 took the clothes and looked at Cole-2, “Could you…”

Cole-2 realized that he was staring directly at Jay-2, “Oh, yeah. Sorry.”

Cole-2 turned around and gave Jay-2 some privacy as he wiggled his shirt and pants on in the bed. Cole-2 turned back around when Jay-2 was dressed. His eyes looked drained and little red, his hair looked messy and knotted. As a whole, Jay-2 looked as if he was plowed by a truck, though Cole-2 probably didn’t look so hot either.

Cole swallowed before saying, “We should talk.”

Jay-2 didn’t answer Cole-2 as he tried to recap the night before. Jay-2 only got splices of it though; the two of them drinking, his confession, and their kisses.”

Jay-2 put his head in his hands and tried to ignore his backside pain, “Oh God, what I done?”

Cole-2 leaned down next Jay-2, “Hey, it’s ok–”

“No it’s not ok!” Jay-2 screamed, “I kissed you. I took advantage of you.”

“I took advantage of you too!” Cole-2 challenged, “You...you told me how you felt and then you kissed me and I kissed you back for no reason. I don’t even know why I did it, I don’t even like you.”

Cole-2 saw Jay-2’s face drop at that and cursed at himself, “Jay, I didn’t mean it like–”

Jay-2 pinched his nose, “This is so embarrassing.”

“Jay.” Cole-2 started, “We need to talk about this, cause what happened last? We were both drunk, i’m not trying to hurt your feelings but it was a mistake.”

Jay-2 tried not to wince too hard at what Cole-2 said, “You’re right. It was a mistake.”

Jay-2 wasn’t lying when he said that. Cole-2 was right, it had been a mistake, but that didn’t mean that Jay-2 was split to the bone upon hearing those words.

Jay-2 shook his head, “I think I should go.”

Cole-2 hesitated before saying, “I don’t if this is something we should hold off on.”

“Cole, I don’t want to talk about this.” Jay-2 countered, “I don’t want to think about it ever again. I wanna just put it all behind me and forget that any of this ever happened.”

Cole-2 didn’t say anything, he didn’t have to either. Jay-2 could sense Cole-2’s disagreement without having to look at him. But Jay-2 didn’t care, even if it wasn’t the healthiest choice, Jay-2 wanted to throw this huge mistake away. Cause that’s all it was to Cole-2...a mistake.  
Jay-2 stood up and immediately fell over as pain shot throughout his body. Cole-2 sprung into action as he caught Jay-2 before he could hit the floor. Then Cole-2 stood up, carrying Jay-2 bridal style. He tried to put on a stoic face but seeing the pain Cole-2 caused jay-2 crushed him.

“Cole.” Jay-2 started in a somber tone, “Put me down.”

Cole-2 gently set Jay-2 down, keeping him close in case he fell. Once Jay-2 had gotten his footing, he set upon slowly limping out of Cole-2’s room. 

Cole-2 approached Jay-2 from behind, “Come on, Jay, at least let me help you to your room.”

Cole-2 started to pick up Jay-2 only to be pushed back, “No! Just...just leave me alone Cole.”

Jay-2 was Cole-2’s door when the Earth ninja spoke up.

“Jay? When you said that you loved me last, did you really mean that?”

Jay-2 looked back but didn’t answer as he exited the room and shut the door on him. Jay-2 looked at the hallway and started the daunting task of reaching his room. Jay-2 took about two steps when Kai-2’s door opened up. Instead of the Green ninja appearing, however, it was Skylor-2 who snuck out of the room. Skylor-2 quietly shut Kai-2’s door and then jumped when she realized that Jay-2 was leaning against the wall.

“Damn it, Jay, you almost scared me...hey are you alright?” Skylor-2 asked.

“Yeah,” Jay-2 lied, “i’m fine.”

Skylor-2 saw that Jay-2 had clearly come from Cole-2’s room and was limping. It didn’t take a genius to realize what had happened.

“Oh…” Skylor-2 started, clearly trying to distract from her own situation, “I didn’t realize you and Cole were a thing.”

“We’re not.” Jay-2 corrected, “but clearly you and Kai are.”

Skylor-2 was taken aback a little, “Oh we’re totally not.”

Jay-2 pushed off of the wall and winced at the pain that came with it, “You know you’re wearing his shirt right?”

Skylor-2 freaked out a little and checked her shirt, “Shit...Ok I won’t tell anyone about you and Cole if you don’t say anything about me and Kai.”

“Fine.” Jay-2 agreed as he tried to make his way to his room.

Skylor-2 watched as Jay-2 limped and winced at every movement and went to aid him.

“Here,” Skylor-2 went to Jay-2, “let me help.”

Jay-2 sighed but gave in as Skylor-2 picked him up and started walking to his room.

“Wow, you are surprisingly light.” Skylor-2 noted.

Normally, Jay-2 would make some quips about how it helps with his Capoeira and acrobatic fighting style, instead he said nothing. Skylor-2 made it to Jay-2’s room and set him down on his bed.

“Thanks.” Jay-2 somberly muttered.

Skylor-2 started walking and then turned around, “Uh hey, do you want to talk about it? I don’t know if that was your first time but I know things can get complicated, especially when it’s with your friend.”

JAy-2 couldn’t hold it in any longer as he started crying. Skylor-2 didn’t know what to do so she sat down next to Jay-2 and patted his back. 

“He kissed me back.” Jay-2 sobbed, “I told him that I loved him and then kissed him. He kissed me back and then said it was a mistake.”

“Hey, it’s ok.” Skylor-2 offered.

“It’s not.” Jay-2 insisted, “I just destroyed our friendship.”

“You don’t know that.” Skylor-2 tried to argue.

“You should’ve seen the look on his face, he was disgusted.” Jay-2 insisted, “I know it was a mistake, why did it hurt so much when he said that it was a mistake too?”

“Love is weird, Jay, it messes with you, twists your logic.” Skylor-2 said, “Don’t blame yourself for it.”

Jay-2 calmed down enough to say, “Thanks Skylor, but I just want to be alone right now.”

“Yeah, I get it.” Skylor-2 said, “Just make sure you get tested for anything, and get a check-up if you keep hurting.”

With that, Skylor-2 got up and left Jay-2 alone in his room.

The next few months brought changes and new additions to the ninja family. Skylor-2 was voted in to fill the mantle of the Fire ninja, despite Nya-2’s and Julien’s disapproval. Eventually, Nya-2 and Julien both came around as Skylor-2 continued to prove her unwavering loyalty to the team.   
Then, in a shocking turn of events, Dareth-2 was revealed to be the elemental master of animal life. Apparently, it never occurred to him that not everyone else could talk to and command animals. After much deliberation, the Ninja decided to take Dareth-2 in and train him. Turned out, Dareth-2 was actually the best when it came to stealth. He claimed that a panther “revealed its stealthy secrets” to him, it didn’t mean he wasn’t a loud mouth any other time. Dareth-2 could be a pain to the other ninja, though Skylor-2 seemed to take a liking to him. It wasn’t long before Dareth-2 was accepted and the ninja’s team got that much bigger.  
Throughout this time, Cole-2 and Jay-2 avoided each other like the plague. Each ninja felt responsible for what happened that night. It didn’t help that Jay-2 did eventually have to go to the hospital, exposing what happened between him and Cole-2 to the rest of the team. The hospital, combined with the embarrassment and guilt, drove the two former best friends apart. There was no hate between the two, just regret and self blame on both sides.   
Their situation wasn’t helped when Morro attacked. The master of wind’s attacks forced the Ninja to go onto a quest to learn airjitzu while Nya-2 trained to be the Water ninja. That wasn’t the only change though, Cole-2 was turned into a ghost. During all of this, Cole-2 and Jay-2 were too preoccupied trying to free Kai-2 from Morro’s possession to talk out their feelings.   
When the threat of the Preeminent was over, Morro had surrendered to Garmadon and was promptly arrested. Skylor-2 and Kai-2 had made themselves official and Nya-2 and Cole-2 bond over being different from the other ninja. 

At the moment, Cole-2 and Nya-2 were hanging out in his room one day, talking about their various issues. It had only been two days after Morro’s defeat but the city never stopped and neither did the Ninja’s problems. Cole-2 was having trouble solidifying his hands to do, well anything. Nya-2 was struggling with being viewed as the “Token female ninja,” despite the fact that Skylor-2 had joined before her. Nya-2 wasn’t a fan of being seen as important solely because of her gender, nor was she a fan of the notion that she and Skylor-2 didn’t get along as the only women in the group. In fact, Nya-2 had actually grown quite fond of Skylor-2, and being a good girlfriend to her brother definitely earned her some points in Nya-2’s books.  
Cole-2 looked at Nya-2 as she continued her passionate rant. He loved how passionate she could be with anything. Cole-2 had listened to Nya-2 go on and on about so many subjects, whether they were publicity issues she was having or just life in general, Cole-2 loved hearing her talk.

“Nya, can I ask you a question?” Cole-2 started.

Nya-2 stopped talking and looked into Cole-2’s eyes. They reminded her of her favorite part of Cole-2, his gentleness. Obviously, Cole-2 was strong and stubborn but Nya-2 loved the gentleness behind his toughness. Nya saw it when he hugged his younger fans, when he spoke of someone he cared about, and when he looked at her. 

“Do you–” Cole-2 sighed to himself and started again, “Would you go out with me?”

Nya-2 smiled, “I’ve been waiting for you to ask me that for a while.”

Cole-2 put his hands up, “Hey, you could’ve asked me out to.”

Nya-2 took Cole-2’s hands, “True.”

Even in this setting of ease, Nya-2 couldn’t help but feel bad for Jay-2. Nya-2 had been trying to convince Jay-2 to talk to Cole-2 again, a few days ago, and the conversation went to her and Cole-2. They had talked and Jay-2 had assured her that Cole-2 had the right to date who he wanted, and that she had the right to be happy with him. Jay-2 acceptance of Nya-2 and Cole-2 honestly hurt Nya-2 even more. The way he said it, it sounded like he thought his two best friends had given up on him.   
However, as much as Nya-2 was sad for Jay-2, he was right. She had waited for so long and put her feelings aside for Jay-2. Now he was doing the same, what was wrong with that?

Cole-2 squeezed Nya-2’s hand, bringing her back to reality, “So, would you want to go out on a date?”

Nya-2 kissed Cole-2, “I’d love to.”

“Do you like me?” Skylor-2 asked Dareth-2.

The two ninja were at the local dog park. Dareth-2 had let Skylor-2 absorb his powers and now they were sitting down on a bench, taking turns playing catch with a very talkative dog named Riley.

“Sure.” Dareth-2 answered, “You’re the closest friend that I have, which is weird considering you’d think everyone would want to be my friend.”

Skylor-2 chuckled and threw the ball at Riley, “No, I meant do you...you know, Like like me?”

Dareth-2 formed a grotesque look on his face, “Me? Liking you? Noooo way Jose.”

Skylor-2 rolled her eyes, “Ok, I get it.”

She was honestly relieved. Skylor-2 loved Kai-2 and, more importantly, she liked him. But Dareth-2 was just as important to her, albeit in a non-romantic way. 

“Listen,” Dareth-2 started, “I know I joke around about all that sex and romance and jazz. Truth is, i’ve never really cared about sex.”

“Oh...I didn’t know.” Skylor-2 offered.

“It’s something I don’t tell my fans a lot.” Dareth-2 started as he petted Riley, “Besides, i’m already suave and amazing...I don't need to give anyone another reason to not like me.” 

“I like you.” Skylor-2 claimed.

Dareth-2 looked down before expressing a wide smile, “Of course you do, i’m perfect in every way imaginable.” 

It was in these moments that Skylor-2 could get a glimpse under what she thought might have a facade. She never could tell if Dareth-2 was truly the person he presented himself as or if there was something deeper underneath. It didn’t change her opinion of him, it just made Skylor-2 think sometimes.

“Hey,” Dareth-2 called Skylor-2, “Thanks for treating me like a person, and not like a problem.”

Skylor-2 gave Dareth-2 a side hug, “Anything for a friend. Besides, us outsiders gotta stick together.”

With that, Skylor-2 and Dareth-2 sat down and continued to enjoy their day.

Cole-2 laid on his bed listening to music. It had been about a week since he and Nya-2 went on their date but good news traveled fast and by the next morning, half of Ninjago City knew about the fledgling relationship. Even after Kai-2 threatened his life, it felt good to know that he and Nya-2 were starting off strong.   
Cole-2 heard a knock on his and stood up off his bed. Cole-2 walked over and opened the door, being shocked at his visitor.

“Jay?”

“Yeah.” Jay-2 responded, though it lacked his usual enthusiasm.

Cole-2 stared at Jay-2 before collecting his thoughts, “Wanna come in?”

“No, no i’m good.” Jay-2 answered, staying in the hallway, “I just wanted to check on you. I know it must be hard to be a ghost now.”

Cole-2 blinked, “I’ve been a ghost for over two weeks.”

“Well sorry I had to hype myself up to come see you.” Jay-2 aggressively defended.

Jay-2 then calmed himself down before continuing, “Look, I didn’t come here to fight with you. I guess I could’ve come sooner. But still, how are you holding up?” 

Cole-2 was internally glad that Jay-2 had come to see about his well being, it meant that he still did care for Cole-2. Maybe there was a chance they could be friends again. 

“I’m fine, i’m...getting used to it.” Cole-2 admitted, “Garmadon’s helping me come to terms with it.”

“Cool, that’s good.” Jay-2 replied, “...Anyways, i’ll be going now.”

Jay-2 started walking but Cole-2 yelled out, “Jay, wait.”

Jay-2 stopped and now Cole-2 had to come up with some excuse to keep Jay-2 talking to him.

“What is it?” Jay-2 hesitantly asked.

“The Ice Labyrinth.” Cole-2 suddenly said, having found a subject to discuss, “Yeah, I was wondering what you saw in the Ice Labyrinth?”

Jay-2’s eyebrows narrowed, “The Ice Labyrinth?”

“Yeah, what did you see in your future?” Cole-2 asked.

Jay-2 put his defenses up, “Why do you care?”

Cole-2 was a little hurt by that comment if he was honest. Did Jay-2 really believe that he didn’t care?

“I’ll always care about you, Jay.” Cole-2 explained, “Nothing could change that.”

Jay-2 seemed to warm to that and sighed, “I saw myself with an eyepatch. I was with a kid, a baby. It was like they were mine, but weren’t at the same time, I don’t know.”

Cole-2 was confused by that, “An eyepatch? A kid that is and isn’t yours? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t know, Cole.” Jay-2 impatiently admitted.

“Right, sorry.” 

Cole-2 noticed the impatience that Jay-2 had seemed to start developing. Maybe he needed to get out and enjoy an afternoon, Cole-2 figured it might do him some good.

“I heard you and Nya had the same vision.” Jay announced.

Cole sighed to himself. He forgot that Nya-2 and Jay-2 still had some amount of contact with each other. But Jay-2 was right, he and Nya did have the same vision. It was them two, together in a long lasting relationship. Cole-2 wasn’t one to believe in fate but the vision did make him feel better.

“Yeah, we did.” Cole-2 confirmed.

Jay-2 let out a small smile, “I’m happy for you two. I really am.”

“Thanks man.”

Silence filled the hallway.

“Anyways,” Jay-2 started, “I better go.”

Jay-2 started walking down the hallway and Cole-2 felt a pang in his stomach. He wasn’t going to let Jay-2 go, not like he did last time.

“Jay,” Cole-2 called out, “please don’t go.”

Jay-2 turned around, “What else do you?”

“You.” Cole-2 declared, “I want you, Jay. I want my best friend back.”

Jay-2 shook his head, “It’s not that simple.”

“But it is.” Cole-2 argued, “I don’t know if you still love me or not Jay but I don’t care. I miss you, I miss having my best friend around.”

“It’s just too weird, too different.” Jay-2 insisted.

“Says who?” Cole-2 asked, “Look, that night happened and we can’t change that, but we can move past it, we don’t have to continue reliving it. We could be like we used to be, maybe not exactly the same but close enough.”

Jay-2’s eyes shifted to looking behind Cole-2, which meant that he was considering it. Cole-2 decided to seal the deal with an easy offer.

“What if we go watch a movie?” Cole-2 pondered, “No need for a lot of talking and no need to focus on each other. Just a lot of snacks and us enjoying each other’s company.”

Jay-2 thought for a second before responding, “Okay, sure.”

Cole-2 smiled, “Cool, I text you the info and we can head out soon.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Jay-2 said as he walked away, trying to hide his smile.

Cole-2 entered his room, closed the door behind him, and then started dancing as a small celebration. Later that night, he enthusiastically told Nya about the movie he and Jay-2 had watched. He talked of how he and Jay-2 wound up joking like they used to, how right it felt.  
Of course, once the movie was over, Jay-2 became more distant but it didn’t matter. Cole-2 knew he and Jay-2 had taken the first step. Soon, they could each have their best friend back. Cole-2 smiled, for things finally seemed to be looking up.

And then Nadakhan attacked.

He was swift, expertly framing the ninja for crimes they didn’t commit, turning the city against them, and buying himself some time to rebuild his crew. While the Ninja were trying to get out of prison, Nadakhan had taken the souls of Julien and Garmadon.   
Once they escaped prison, and after Skylor-2 was taken by Nadakhan, the remaining Ninja started packing for their voyage to find the Tiger Widow’s venom. In the meantime, they were able to prove their innocence to the Commissioner and were declared freed men and women.

Cole-2 was in the middle of his shift, watching the monastery so that neither Nadakhan nor any of his Sky Pirates could get to the Ninja unnoticed. The darkness had really gotten to him and now Cole-2 was finding that every shadow seemed to come to life, almost teasing him with all the ways his enemies could sneak into the monastery.   
Cole-2 jumped as he heard something break in the kitchen. Cole-2 snuck into the room, only to find that a jar had been knocked over. Cole-2 let out the breath he was holding and laughed to himself. Yet he failed to notice the figure standing behind him until it was too late.   
Cole felt Nadakhan grab onto him and suddenly Cole-2 found himself on a small raft in the middle of the nighttime ocean. Cole-2 panicked as he scrambled to get the center of the raft. One small amount of water would wipe him out of existence and right now, he was surrounded by an endless amount of it.

“Now that we have some privacy,” A mysterious voice called out, “I would like to make an offer to you.”

Cole-2 turned around and scowled, “Nadakhan.”

“Now, Cole,” The Djinn started, “we aren’t here. This is all about you, more specifically, this is about three wishes that I want to grant for you.”

Cole-2 balled his fists, “Why? So you can take my soul too?”

Nadakhan faked sadness, “When have I ever been known to do something so...sinister. I have an offer for you, Cole. Make a wish for me, any wish, and I will send you back to the dry comforts of your monastery.”

Cole-2 knew this had to be a trick, it was too easy. 

“Or you could ignore my offer and be left here.” Nadakhan added, gesturing to the ocean for emphasis, “After that, your fate lies in the hands of the sea. And trust me when I say that she’s never been a merciful one.”

Cole-2 didn’t want to risk whether Nadakhan was right or not. Besides, he already knew what he wanted to wish for. 

“Just one wish?” Cole-2 asked against his better judgement.

“Just one wish.” Nadakhan confirmed.

“Okay....I wish.” Cole-2 stopped before forcing himself to continue, “I wish Jay and I were best friends again.”

Cole-2 was suddenly back at the monastery. It felt as though not a second had passed, but Cole-2 knew better. Cole-2 reflected on his situation, why had Nadakhan let him go? Cole-2 didn’t know and that worried him more than anything else.  
The day turned into night and it became very evident that no one even knew that Cole-2 was gone. He decided to keep Nadakhan’s visit to himself because he didn’t want to cause the team any unnecessary stress. The team was already brought down to Zane, Jay-2, Kai-2, Cole-2, and Nya-2  
Right now, it was near midnight and Zane was taking watch for the team. Cole-2 was in his room packing all of his necessities when he heard a banging on his door. However, before Cole-2 could reach the door, it burst open and Jay-2 stood there, his eyes red from crying.

“Jay?” Cole-2 asked.

Jay-2 started crying and threw himself into Cole-2’s arms. Soon the cries turned into muffled screams of anguish and pain. Cole-2 had no idea what was going on but he clung to his obviously distressed friend.

“Jay, what’s wrong?!” Cole-2 asked.

He tried to be as calm as possible but Jay-2 was making him extremely worried. This wasn’t just crying, something bad had happened.

“He killed them.” Jay-2 finally admitted, “Nadakhan, he killed my parents.”

Cole-2 was horrified, “Oh god, Jay–” Cole hugged Jay even tighter while shutting his door, “–i’m so sorry.”

“They beg me to save them.” Jay-2 sobbed, “I-I watched the security cameras. He tore them to shreds and they yelled out my name, begging me to save them.”

“Jay, that’s-that’s horrible.” Cole said.

“I should’ve been there.” Jay-2 cried out, “They needed me and I wasn’t there!”

“Hey,” Cole-2 tried to be soothing, “It wasn’t your fault, it was Nadakhan’s. And we’ll get him back, I promi–”

“Cole, stop.” Jay-2 pleaded, “I don’t need promises right now, I just need my best friend.”

Cole-2’s heart froze as his blood turned ice cold. Best friend, he said ‘best friend’. No, it couldn’t be what Cole-2 had been thinking. Cole-2 had wished that he and Jay were best friends and now Jay was talking about how he needed his best friend? There’s no way that could be a coincidence. But that didn’t make any sense, Cole-2 hadn’t wished for this, he would never wish for this. Oh god, what did he do? Cole-2 needed to figure this out before he started freaking out, and he would later. For now, Cole-2 silently held on to Jay-2 as he continued wailing into Cole-2’s shoulder.  
Eventually, with all the crying, Jay-2 exhausted himself and he fell asleep on Cole-2’s bed. Cole-2 made sure that Jay-2 was knocked out before sneaking out of the room. Zane was probably checking the monastery’s backyard so he was easy to avoid. Cole-2 snuck out into the courtyard where he made sure that no one could hear him, before speaking up.

“Nadakhan!” Cole-2 yelled out, “I know you can hear me, show yourself!” 

At once, the Djinn appeared in front of him, smug as ever.

“Ah, Cole.” Nadakhan mocked a friendly greeting, “I hope you're enjoying your wish.”

“What did you do?!” Cole-2 demanded to know.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Nadakhan lied, “I simply honored your wish.”

“You killed his parents!” Cole-2 screamed.

“And now, Jay will need you to help him recover from this tragedy.” Nadakhan argued, “You see, grief creates opportunity for closure. You will comfort Jay, provide him with all the love and support he needs. And when the grieving process is over, you will have your best friend back, just as you wished for.”

Nadakhan then leaned into Cole-2, “Or, you could just wish it all away.”

Cole-2 spat on Nadakhan, “I’m going to make you pay for what you did.”

Nadakhan smiled at Cole-2, “For what I did? You were the one who made the wish, Cole. If you hadn’t made that wish, I wouldn’t have been forced to murder Jay’s parents.”

Cole-2 looked down to the ground. Nadakhan was right, he did this, he wished for it. This was all his fault.

Nadakhan took the opportunity to twist the knife deeper, “Some friend you are, killing off Jay’s parents just so you could have him for yourself? Tsk tsk. Though I must admit, I am looking forward to how you’re going to tell Jay you murdered his parents.”

With that, Nadakhan disappeared, leaving Cole-2 alone in the courtyard. The Earth ninja collapsed onto the ground and started crying.

Cole-2 looked at his hands, “What have I done?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the drunk dialogue.


	12. What Ever Happened to Jay Walker? Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We find why Jay-2 is the person he is

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is way bigger than I expected it to be. It's actually the biggest chapter i've written yet. I hope you enjoy.

Jay-2 always slept in a relaxed manner. Sure there were the rare occurrences of heightened stress and restless nights but for the most part. Jay-2 could usually be counted on to get in a good night’s rest.

This wasn’t one of those nights.

Cole-2 couldn’t sleep after his talk with Nadakhan last night, so he decided to stay awake incase Jay-2 needed him. It was around four in the morning when Jay-2 woke up screaming. By the time the other ninja ran to him, Cole-2 was already cradling him. Cole-2 and Nya-2 convinced Jay-2 to take a shower and then Cole-2 told the rest of the team about Nadakhan murdering Jay-2’s parents, though he didn’t tell them why. The Ninja decided that they needed to stop Nadakhan before getting Jay-2 the help he needed, they were already down to just Zane, Cole-2, Kai-2, and Jay-2.  
Meanwhile Jay-2 was in the shower, wishing it would drown him so that he might see his parents again. No. He couldn’t think like that, Nadakhan was still out there and Jay-2 had to stop him. He couldn't waste any more time feeling sorry for himself, every second that passed was more time that Nadakhan had to wreak havoc. Jay-2 breathed deeply, for he had a new personal mission, stop Nadakhan, by any means necessary.  
Jay-2 turned off and walked out of the shower. He wrapped a towel around his waist and exited the bathroom, only to be tackled in a tight hug by Nya-2.

“Oh my God, Jay, i’m so sorry.” Nya-2 said as she squeezed him.

“We’ll find Nadakhan.” Kai-2 started, “I promise.”

Jay-2 looked at the floor, “How long until we get the venom?” 

The ninja looked at each other and Zane answered, “We should be ready to depart in a few days.”

That would take too long, Jay-2 wanted to get rid of Nadakhan asap. Maybe he could gather some intel on the Djinn from one of his Sky Pirates. Plus, he wanted to be alone. Everyone was surrounding him, they meant well but it was suffocating.

“Ok.” Jay-2 nodded his head, “I’m going on patrol tonight.”

Jay-2 tried to leave the hallway but Cole-2 put his hand on his shoulder, “I don’t that’s a good idea.”

“I didn’t ask you.” Jay-2 argued.

“No, Cole’s right.” Kai-2 added, “You’re...not ok. I remember when I found out my parents died, I would’ve done anything to not think about–”

“I said i’m fine.” Jay-2 snapped.

Zane stepped up to Jay-2, “Jay, we are concerned about your mental wellbeing. A traumatic event this serious should not be ignored.”

“I’m not ignoring it,” Jay-2 clarified, “I just...I just want to be alone right now.”

“What if I go with you?” Cole-2 suggested, “I’ll keep a distance so you can be alone.”

“No.” Jay-2 said.

He knew that the ninja would never let him go out alone. He’d have to sneak out on his own. 

“Alright, i’ll stay.” Jay-2 lied.

Everyone seemed to relax at that.

“Good.” Kai-2 announced, “But I still want someone with you at all times.”

And that was how Jay-2 got stuck spending the night in Cole-2’s room. He knew the ninja meant well and they were right. Jay-2 was hurting. In fact, the only thing not keeping him from falling apart was his desire to defeat Nadakhan. After that...well Jay-2 could only hope that he’d be able to pick up the pieces of his life.  
Cole-2 was sleeping next to him on the bed, his fingers still interlocked with Jay-2’s. Earlier, Jay-2 had another emotional outburst. Cole-2 held Jay-2 close whilst he cried and eventually took his hand. It wasn’t out of any romantic feeling, just something to comfort his best friend.  
Best friend, Jay-2 didn’t ever think that he’d be calling Cole-2 that. Yet here he was, even after all the distancing that jay-2 did, Cole-2 was still here for him when his parents...when it happened. Jay-2 was grateful for him, even if he planned on sneaking out.  
Jay-2 knew that Cole-2 was a heavier sleeper, so he had a good few hours to get back to the monastery. As silent as a ninja, Jay-2 stood up on the bed and leaped onto the floor. He opened the window and crawled out of it. Jay-2 cleared some distance between himself and the monastery and conjured his dragon before taking to the skies.  
Jay-2 scoured the streets of Ninjago City looking for any Sky Pirates, they’d be the best place to start. They weren’t hard to find either, find the piece of Ninjago City that was being stolen to rebuild Djinjago and they’d be in the area. Jay-2 saw two Sky Pirates alone on the roof of a multistoried building and dove in to attack.  
Jay-2 leaped off of his dragon and blasted both of the Sky Pirates with lightning. He landed on the roof and quickly knocked one of the Sky Pirates down with a swift Roundhouse kick to the ribcage. Jay-2 turned around to the other Sky Pirate and side flipped out of the way as he fired his pistol at the master of lightning. Jay-2 landed and shot a bolt of lightning at the Sky Pirate knocking him to the ground. Jay-2 ran over and then kicked the pistol off the roof before interrogating the Sky Pirate.

“Where’s Nadakhan?” Jay-2 demanded to know.

“I ain’t telling you nothing.” The Sky Pirate smugly answered.

Jay-2 charged up a bolt of lightning, “Tell me!”

The Sky Pirate grinned, “I already told you–”

The Sky Pirate stopped talking as Jay-2 sent a bolt of lightning cascading near the Sky Pirate.

“Tell me now!” Jay-2 threatened.

“Ok, ok!” The Sky Pirate said with fear in his eyes, “He’s at Djinnjago! I don’t know where but he’s up there!”

The Sky Pirate pointed to the floating city in the sky. Jay-2 looked up, Nadakhan was up there right now. Did he know that Jay-2 was coming after him? Did he even care? It didn’t matter, all Jay-2 had to do was get close enough to Nadakhan. One slash and the Djinn would be down, at least, Jay-2 though he’d be down. Jay-2 suddenly came to the realization that he didn’t know what he was doing, he was in over his head. Jay-2 was so distracted by this realization that he failed to hear the Sky Pirate get up behind him until it was too late.  
Jay-2 was tackled from behind. He landed hard on his face and started feeling the blood run out of his nose. The Sky Pirate used his weight advantage to pin Jay-2 to the ground. The Sky Pirate then repeatedly punched Jay-2 in the face and disoriented the Lightning ninja before choking him out. Jay-2 panicked and blasted a powerful arc of lightning...sending the Sky Pirate straight over the edge of the roof. Jay-2 recovered his breath and then looked at the edge of the roof.

“No…” Jay-2 exclaimed as he ran to the edge of the roof.

Jay-2 saw the body of the Sky Pirate and felt sick to his stomach. He...he killed him. Jay-2 didn’t kill people. Jay felt...he felt...nothing. Jay-2 felt nothing, and that scared him more than anything else. Why didn’t he feel anything? Sure his stomach was feeling sick but he expected more guilt, shame, those types of emotions. Was killing supposed to be this easy? No, this was wrong, Jay-2 knew that. Even if he was feeling numb to the killing, it was still wrong of him to do. He needed to get out of here before anyone saw him.  
Jay-2 looked outwards to see if anyone was watching and then scaled down the roof. Jay-2 landed on the ground and then ran away from the building. When he was far enough away from the scene, Jay-2 formed his dragon and rocketed back to the monastery.

The next morning

Cole-2 woke up and was caught a little off guard to see that Jay-2 was wide awake, laying in bed and staring up at the ceiling. The room was still dim as the sun hadn’t quite risen yet.

Cole-2 stretched his legs and then stood up to address Jay-2, “Hey, you ok.”

Jay-2 either didn’t hear Cole-2 or just chose to ignore him.

Cole-2 lightly shook Jay-2’s shoulder, “Jay?”

Jay-2 let out a deep breath but kept looking at the ceiling, “I’m fine.”

“Couldn’t sleep?” Cole-2 asked.

“Nah,” Jay-2 answered, “but i’m fine.”

It was a lie. Cole-2 could tell at least that, Jay-2 wasn’t his usual jumpy self. Cole-2 walked over and turned on the ceiling light. Then he took a look at Jay-2 and gasped with horror.  
Jay-2’s face was decorated with a few welts, cuts, and bruises. There was dried blood at the base of his nose, it was smeared as if someone tried to wipe it off.

“Jay what happened to you?!” Cole-2 shouted.

The Earth ninja rushed over to Jay-2 and started examining him.

“What did you do to yourself…” Cole-2 suddenly remembered yesterday’s bathroom conversation, “did you sneak out last night?”

Jay-2 froze. He couldn’t tell Cole-2 the truth, the ninja would learn about the death of that Sky Pirate sooner or later. If Cole-2 knew that Jay-2 had been out the same night as the Sky Pirate’s murder, it wouldn’t have taken too long to figure out the correlation. What was he supposed to say, ‘Oh yeah, I went out last night but had nothing to do with the mysterious murder of a Sky Pirate that occurred the same night I disappeared for hours with no alibi to back up my story’?

“Hey…” Cole-2 softly pulled Jay-2 from his thoughts, “You know you can tell me anything, right?”

No, he couldn’t. Jay-2 knew that if Cole-2 and the others thought that he was losing it, they would never let him leave the monastery. They needed him to help stop Nadakhan, and he wouldn’t let them down.

“I-uh, I just went for a walk earlier.” Jay-2 lied in a somber tone, “I tripped and face planted on the sidewalk, I guess I didn’t get clean all the blood off, huh?”

Judging by Cole-2’s look, he didn’t buy Jay-2’s story. In all honesty, Jay-2 just woke up, he didn’t want to deal with Cole-2’s inevitable interrogation. It had only been two days since his parents died and after last night, Jay-2 wasn’t in the best mindset. 

“Jay,” Cole-2 started, “i’m getting worr–”

“Not now Cole.” Jay-2 interrupted, “I know you’re worried but please, don’t interrogate me. I already have too much to think about.”

Cole-2 opened his mouth to say something before closing it. He was overstepping the line, he knew that. Cole-2 and Jay-2 had been so much closer recently that Cole-2 forgot that their friendship was already damaged before Nadakhan happened.

Instead he nodded at Jay-2 and asked, “Do you need anything? I could make you some coffee.”

Jay-2 shook his head, “No, i’m gonna take a shower right now.”

Cole-2 sat at his desk chair and watched as Jay-2 wordlessly got up and left his bedroom. Silence filled the air, yet Cole-2 somehow felt less empty without Jay-2 here. Not that he wanted Jay-2 gone, it was more in the sense that Cole-2 didn’t ask for this silence. When Jay-2 was here, all Cole-2 could think about was his wish, how he brought this upon Jay-2. How the Lightning ninja was being forced into becoming his best friend again through the most horrible of means. Now he felt like a fraud every time he comforted Jay-2, he got Jay-2’s parents killed and now his friendship with Jay-2 would strengthen as a result? Cole-2 hated it, he obviously wasn’t going to force Jay-2 to go through this alone but he didn’t feel right being the one to help considering he put him in this situation in the first place. Cole-2 wanted to look at it as him redeeming himself by helping Jay-2 recover but every time he thought it to himself it sounded like an excuse.  
And when would he tell Jay-2? Cole-2 knew that he’d have to tell Jay-2 about his wish at some point. He figured he’d help Jay-2 recover from the loss of his parents first. If Jay-2 learned about Cole-2’s wish before he mentally recovered, it might destroy him, not to mention that he’d never want to talk to Cole-2 again.  
Cole-2 stood and walked across his room, he closed his door and felt a presence behind him. Cole-2 quickly turned around to find a certain Djinn smirking at him.

“I hope you’re enjoying your wish.” Nadakhan teased as he floated closer to Cole-2.

Cole-2 bawled his fist and knitted his eyebrows, “What do you want?!”

Nadakhan disappeared and then reappeared behind Cole-2, “It appears that Jay had a run in with some of my men last night.”

“You really expect me to believe you?” Cole-2 pondered.

Nadakhan ignored Cole-2 and continued talking, “He fought with two of my Sky Pirates...and killed one of them.”

“What?” Cole-2 asked, “No, you’re lying.”

“Am I?” Nadakhan asked, “I think you know that there must be some truth to what I say. After All, doesn’t it sound a little convenient that one of my men dies the same night Jay receives mysterious wounds?”

It was convenient, Cole-2 had no problem admitting that. But there was no way that Jay-2 would ever kill someone like that, he was too good of a person to do so.

“He fell and hit his face on the concrete.” Cole-2 tried to counter.

“Oh, don't tell me that you believe that story.” Nadakhan started, “Surely you know your ‘best friend’ better than that.”

Cole-2 stepped back from Nadakhan, “Jay would never do anything like that.”

“Is that so?” Nadakhan asked in a condescending tone, “Whether or not you want to admit it, Cole, Jay is now a murderer.”

The Djinn noticed Cole shifting his feet and smiled, “Or maybe you know he is. Maybe you know but don’t want to admit it. Maybe he cracked under the knowledge of his parents’ deaths, hmm? Is that why you blind yourself to reality, Cole, to deny that your wish pushed Jay down a dark path?”

“Jay would never…” Cole-2 insisted.

Nadakhan smiled, “I think we both that’s not true, and we both know that you’re to blame. Jay is seeking vengeance against me, so much so that he’s willing to kill. How long will you let him give up his soul chasing the wrong person, Cole?”

With that, Nadakhan disappeared. Cole-2 sat down on his bed, Nadakhan had to be wrong, Jay-2 wouldn’t kill anyone, would he? No, Cole-2 wasn’t going to let Nadakhan manipulate him into thinking any less of Jay-2. But he couldn’t just ignore the fact that Jay-2 had been out last night. Cole-2 knew Jay-2 too well to know that the story about falling down was fake. Cole-2 was going to find out what Jay-2 had been up to last, even if he had to stalk him to do it.

It took another three day before Jay-2 decided to sneak out again. This time, though, Cole-2 only feigned being asleep. When Jay-2 snuck out, Cole-2 followed him from a distance. Cole-2 climbed into the taxi and ordered him to follow the blue dragon in the sky. When Jay-2 landed on top of a one story building, Cole-2 climbed out of the taxi. Cole-2 started climbing a nearby building to get an advantage on his friend. Cole-2 reached the top of his building and considered himself lucky that he could still hear what Jay-2 was saying. He pulled out his binoculars to see what Jay-2 was doing.  
It looked as if Jay-2 had just finished a fight as three Sky Pirates were on the floor surrounding him. He had a charged lightning bolt in each hand and was approaching a now cowering Sky Pirate.

“Where’s Nadakhan?” Jay-2 interrogated.

“I don’t know, I swear!” the Sky Pirate responded.

Jay-2 didn’t seem impressed by that answer as he lit up the Sky Pirate with his lightning. 

“What are you doing, Jay?” Cole-2 asked himself.

Jay-2 stopped electrocuting the Sky Pirate, “I can go a lot harder than that. Talk, now!”

“No one knows where he is!” The Sky Pirate confessed, “Nadakhan is gone most of the days, we don’t know he goes.”

Jay-2 looked down at the Sky Pirate, “You’re not lying, are you?”

“Please don’t kill me.” The Sky Pirate tried to shield himself from Jay-2. 

“...Why shouldn’t I?” Jay-2 pondered, “You work for the guy who killed my parents.”

Cole-2’s eyes widened at what Jay-2 just said, he didn’t even flinch at the thought of murder. Was Nadakhan right after all? Cole-2 decided that he had enough of Jay-2’s interrogation and leaped off the building to intervene. Cole-2 used airjitzu to glide over to the building. 

“All you people do is terrorize everyone,” Jay-2 started, “and you think you deserve to live? No, my parents did though. They were kind and sweet and caring. If anyone deserved to live, it was them. But they didn’t, so why should you?”

Cole-2 landed on the roof and declared, “Jay, stop!”

Jay-2 turned around, surprised by the Earth ninja’s presence, “Cole? What are you doing here?”

Cole-2 ignored him and walked to the Sky Pirate, “Take your goons and get out of here.”

Cole-2 grabbed Jay-2’s arms and dragged him away from the Sky Pirates, “What are you doing, Jay?!”

“Looking for Nadakhan.” Jay-2 admitted while looking away from Cole-2.

“You threatened to kill that guy, Jay. We don’t do that.” Cole-2 angrily insisted.

“So?” Jay-2 started, “He’s hurting our city. He’s not exactly innocent”

Cole-2 calmed himself and spoke as calm as he could, “What’s going on? This isn’t you.”

“I’m sorry that i’m trying to stop a psychopath from hurting anyone else, Cole!” Jay-2 suddenly snapped.

“By hurting other people, yourself?” Cole challenged, “I’m not saying these guys are saints but you don’t get to decide whether or not they live.”

Jay-2 went silent and Cole-2 continued talking, “I know you’re hurting, Jay, and i’m so sorry for that. But this isn’t going to help you move on. I told you that we’ll get Nadakhan, but you can’t just go on some revenge scheme.”

Jay-2 started walking away, “You wanna help me ‘move on?’ Stay out of my way.”

Cole-2’s heart contracted inside him. The way that Jay-2 spoke of killing, it was numb, it was cold. Cole-2 couldn’t help but start to believe what Nadakhan had told him.

“Jay.” Cole-2 called out in a defeated manner, “You–” Cole-2 took a deep breath and blinked a few tears away, “–You killed someone haven’t you?”

Jay-2 stopped dead in his tracks, “Wh–what are you talking about?”

“The Sky Pirate.” Cole-2 explained, “You snuck out the other night and killed him, I don’t want to believe it, but I know you did.”

“...It was an accident.” Jay-2 admitted.

“Was it?” Cole-2 challenged, “You were about to kill these guys, you didn’t even look guilty about it.”

“These guys work for Nadakhan!” Jay-2 argued, “You can’t tell me they don’t have it coming!”

Cole-2 took a step back, “Jay, listen to yourself. We don’t get to decide who lives and who dies. This isn’t what your parents would’ve wanted.”

What Cole-2 must’ve reached Jay-2 on some level because he seemed to stop and question himself. Jay-2 looked around as if he suddenly woke up from a nightmare and then started crying. For once, Cole-2 couldn’t tell what Jay-2 was upset over, and that scared him. Cole-2 slowly approached Jay-2.

“Jay, I know you’re going through a lot, but killing people isn’t going to help and it’s not going to bring them back.”

Jay-2 formed an angry yet defeated look on his face, “But Nadakhan.... We’ve got to stop him.”

“We will.” Cole-2 insisted, “but for now, let’s get you home.”

Cole-2 took Jay-2’s hand and the ninja used airjitzu to glide off into the wind. 

When they landed at the monastery, Jay-2 showered and went to bed. Well, he cried into Cole-2’s shoulders and then passed out in the Earth ninja’s bed. Cole-2 said nothing the whole time, he didn’t want to clue Jay-2 into his thought process. Jay-2 was his friend, and a murderer. The rest of the team had to know, they had to be ready to stop Jay-2 if he crossed the line again. Cole-2 wanted to believe that Jay-2 was just reacting out of grief and sorrow, but it didn’t excuse his actions. The ninja needed to know everything that happened.  
So when Jay-2 finally slept, Cole-2 crept out of the room and went to gather the others. Kai-2 was on watch and Nya-2 and Zane would be asleep right now. Cole-2 woke Nya-2 and Zane up first and sent them out to the front of the monastery where Kai-2 would be. Once Cole-2 had Kai-2’s attention, he told the other three ninja everything. His wish causing Nadakhan to kill Jay-2’s parents, Jay-2 sneaking out and killing Sky Pirates, Nadkahn visiting Cole-2 in the morning to tease him about Jay-2's declining psyche, everything. 

“It’s all my fault.” Cole-2 finished, “None of this would’ve ever happened if I hadn’t made that wish.”

“Hey,” Nya-2 held Cole-2’s hand, “no it wasn’t. You had no idea what would happen.”

Kai-2 held his head in his hand, “What are we gonna tell Jay?”

“We aren’t going to notify him of anything.” Zane hesitantly said, “There are only five of us left to stop Nadakhan. We need everyone we can get and that includes Jay.”

“Zane’s right.” Kai-2 decided, “We need to stop Nadakhan first and then we’ll deal with Jay.”

“‘Deal with him’,” Cole-2 muttered under his breath, “He’s not a criminal, Kai-2.”

Kai-2 looked up at Cole-2, “I–you know that’s not what I meant.”

“Cole,” Nya-2 softly started, “you know I love Jay but Kai’s right. Jay murdered someone and you said that he might’ve murdered someone else.”

“So what?” Cole-2 asked in a frustrated manner, “We tell Jay that I wished for his parents to die and then lock him up?”

“Nonsense.” Zane answered, “I believe that Jay’s service as a ninja combined with the fact that it was a Sky Pirate he killed will most likely reduce his sentencing. Perhaps we could work out a deal with the commissioner? Maybe we could suggest that Jay plead guilty in exchange for a mandatory counseling session.”

“If that even works.” Kai-2 replied.

“We will ensure that Jay receives the help he needs.” Zane asserted, “But first, we have to defeat Nadakhan.”

“What about his parents?” Cole-2 questioned, “When do I tell him the truth?”

“I don’t know, Cole.” Kai-2 admitted, “That’s for you to decide.”

“I think for now, we don’t say anything.” Nya-2 suggested, “Jay’s alrighty...not well. I’m not saying that it was your fault, Cole, but if Jay found out, it wouldn’t be good.”

“Ok, here’s what we’re gonna do.” Kai-2 decided, “We aren’t gonna tell Jay anything yet. Not this meeting, not Cole’s wish, not even that the rest of us know about Jay’s killings. We’re going to get the Tiger Widow venom and stop Nadakhan while keeping watch over Jay at the same time. Afterwards, we’ll try and get Jay the help he needs.”

“Sounds reasonable.” Zane offered.

Nya-2 simply nodded her head.

Cole-2 didn’t like this plan. What he didn’t like, however, was that he felt a little relieved that he didn’t have to tell Jay-2 about his wish. He knew that he should tell Jay-2 but...what if he didn’t have to. Cole-2 was the one who had been helping Jay-2 the most, he didn’t want to ruin that for Jay-2 right? Everything would work out right?

“This is not going to end well.” Cole-2 muttered to himself.

The next few days finally saw the ninja finally setting sail and heading to get the Tiger Widow venom. Unfortunately, Zane was taken when Nadakhan cornered him and used Julien against him. Now it was just Nya-2, Cole-2, Kai-2, and Jay-2.  
The whole time at sea, Cole-2 noticed that Jay-2 seemed off. He was calm, but in the sense that there was a storm coming. They just needed to get Nadakhan, then they could get Jay-2 the help he needed. Cole-2 hoped that this would all be over sooner rather than later.  
When they got to the island, Jay-2 volunteered to get the venom. Jay-2 marched into the cave and marched out with the venom. Cole-2 didn’t ask how Jay-2 had managed to get the venom so quickly but the determined look on his face gave some indication to the answer. The problem was that the look of determination was mixed with two other emotions, anger and numbness, and Cole-2 didn’t know which one worried him more. Cole-2 jogged up ahead to check on Jay-2.

“Hey.” Cole-2 started.

“Hey.” Jay-2 responded back.

“How are you doing?” Cole-2 pondered.

“Fine.”

Cole-2 noted that Jay-2 was giving short responses, clearly he wasn’t in the mood to talk. Still, Cole-2 wanted to make sure he was ok.

“You sure?” Cole-2 asked, “You don’t seem ok.”

“I’ll be ok when we find Nadakhan.” Jay-2 bluntly responded.

“We will,” Cole-2 insisted, “but I don’t want you closing yourself off from us–”

BANG

Cole-2 was interrupted by Flintlocke, who jumped out of a tree and shot at Cole-2. Luckily, Cole-2 was able to make himself intangible so the bullet flew right through him. Cole-2 barely had time to register the ambush before it happened. Clany, Dogshank, and a gang of Sky Pirates surrounded the ninja. 

“Well what do we have here?” Flintlocke offered as he twirled his gun.

“N-Nadakhan will be sssso happy to ssssee thissss.” Clancy noted.

“Do we pound them now or after we get the Tiger Widow venom?” Dogshank asked.

“You’re not getting anything.” Nya-2 asserted.

“Now listen here little lady.” Flintlocke started, “You’re getting married whether you like or not.”

Cole-2 stepped in front of Nya-2, “Over my dead body.”

“That can be arranged.” Flintlocke replied as he took aim with his guns.

Dogshank readied her flail, “The lady ninja’s mine.”

“Let’s get this over with.” Jay-2 declared.

Then the fight started. Dogshank fought with Nya-2, Jay-2 and Kai-2 took on the Pirates and Clany, and Cole-2 engaged Flintlocke. Fighting Flintlocke was easy for Cole-2 since he couldn’t be hurt by his bullets. Cole-2 towards Flintlocke and took him down with a double leg. Cole-2 pinned Flintlocke down and tried to talk some sense into him.

“Nadakhan’s using you.” Cole-2 said as he struggled to keep Flintlocke under control, “Once he’s done with you, he’ll take your soul away too.”

“It’ll take more than a couple words to make me betray Nadakhan.” Flintlocke responded as he struggled against Cole-2.

Elsewhere in the fight, Kai-2 took out a Sky Pirate with a superman punch. Then he blocked another Sky Pirate’s left hook. Kai-2 grabbed the Sky Pirate and drained enough energy out of him to safely knock him out.  
Jay-2 dodge a rick sidekick and then attacked a Sky Pirate with a roundhouse kick to the left temple. He then electrocuted another Sky Pirate with enough ferocity to draw Kai-2’s attention.

“Jay, calm down!” Kai-2 demanded.

Jay-2 didn’t listen though as he used a butterfly kick to knock another Sky Pirate into a tree. Kai-2 covered him by blasting the other Sky Pirates with his energy. At this point, Clancy had simply resorted to hiding behind a tree. Jay-2 and Kai-2 went back to back and started using their energy and lightning to clear out the rest of the Sky Pirates. 

Nya-2 slid under Dogshank’s flail and slashed at her with her trident. Dogshank grabbed the trident and flung it away, leaving Nya-2 defenseless. Dogshank then looked at her flail before discarding it.

“We fight on equal footing,” Dogshank explained, “like ladies.”

“If only you weren’t so evil…” Nya-2 muttered to herself before engaging Dogshank.

Even with her surprising amount of speed, Dogshank was easy enough to dodge. Nya-2 rolled out of the way and then kicked in the back of Dogshank’s knees. Dogshank fell forward and Nya-2 tried to kick her. Dogshank grabbed Nya-2’s leg and threw her into the sand. Dogshank stood up and almost kicked down on Nya-2, but was blasted away by Jay-2 at the last second.  
Dogshank didn’t see Kai-2 running to her until it was too late. Kai-2 closed in and drained enough of her energy so she couldn’t move. She could see that the fight was over with Cole-2 holding Flintlocke down, the Sky Pirates knocked out, and Nya-2 throwing Clancy to them. 

Jay-2 walked over to Dogshank, “Call Nadakhan here, now.”

“Make me.” Dogshank spat out.

Jay-2 shocked Dogshank and said, “Call him.”

“Jay, knock it off.” Kai-2 pulled Jay-2 back.

Nya-2 kept Jay-2 calm while Kai-2 spoke up.

“We know that Nadakhan wants to marry Nya-2 for his infinite wishes.”

“You’re smarter than you look then.” Flintlocke called out.

Kai-2 turned to Flintlocke, “You really think that Nadakhan will need you once he’s all powerful? Help us stop him and we can work out some sort of deal with the police.” 

Dogshank smiled, “You know what I love best about Nadakhan? He always gives people what they wish for.” Dogshank turned to Cole-2, “Have you ever wanted something so bad that you wished for it?”

Cole-2 went wide eyed and Nya-2 exclaimed, “Shut up.”

Dogshank then turned to Jay-2, “Don’t you want to wish for your parents to come back to life?”

Jay-2 balled his fists, “Never.”

“That’s a shame.” Dogshank replied, “I’m sure Nadakhan would’ve loved to murder them again.”

Jay-2 felt a little lightning arc around his fingertips.

“Don’t listen to her, Jay.” Kai-2 advised.

“It was so easy to kill them.” Dogshank teased, “Nadakhan showed me what happened. Poor daddy tried to put up a fight, and failed. Nadakhan slit his throat and watched the light leave his eyes.” 

Jay-2 felt the tears stream down his face as Dogshank continued, “Then mommy was all alone, she cried and sobbed and begged. Nadakhan took his time with her, he choked her to death. She struggled until she died, and then he dropped onto the floor like a broken doll.”

Jay-2 felt the hairs stand up on the back of his neck as lightning started arcing around his body. Nya-2 ran over and punched Dogshank in an effort to silence her. It didn’t work.

“And the worse part?” Dogshank continued, “You weren’t there. They begged for their precious Jay to come save them and where were you?”

The lightning that arched around Jay-2’s body intensified and Cole-2 cautiously approached him.

“Jay?” Cole-2 started, “You need to calm down.”

Cole-2 tried to grab Jay-2’s shoulder, only to get shocked by the lightning.

“You failed them Jay.” Dogshank smeared.

Nya-2 punched Dogshank, “Shut up!”

Dogshank ignored her, “You call yourself a ninja? You couldn’t even save your own parents. Maybe you didn’t want to save them, hmm? Maybe you wanted them dead! You didn't do anything to save them! It’s your fault! Your fault! All your–”

Jay-2 lost control. He gathered all the lightning around and formed it into a single bolt, a bolt that Jay-2 launched directly into Dogshank’s face. The powerful bolt was blinding as the lightning connected with Dogshank’s metal helmet. She was dead before her body hit the ground.

Silence 

Nya-2 covered her face with her hands, “Oh my God.”

Cole-2 let go of flintlocke, “Jay…”

Flintlocke started at Dogshank, “Lady Dogshank?”

Kai-2 stared at the Lightning ninja, “Jay, what did you do?!”

Jay-2 turned to Clancy and conjured two lightning balls, “Call Nadakhan before I kill you too!”

“Jay! Don’t!” Nya-2 yelled out.

She reached out for Jay-2, but was mildly shocked when she made contact with some of the lightning. 

“Nya!” Cole-2 called out as he went to help her up.

Jay-2's face filled with guilt, “Nya, i’m sorry!”

Jay-2 was distracted, and Kai-2 took the opportunity to put a stop to him. All Kai-2 had to do was make contact and he could drain enough of Jay-2’s energy to knock him out, then he wouldn’t kill anyone else. Kai-2 rushed at the Lightning ninja. He grabbed Jay-2’s shoulder and started draining his energy. Unfortunately, in the heat of the moment, Jay-2 failed to realize that Kai-2 was the one who grabbed him. He discharged lightning at Kai-2 and shocked the green ninja. Kai-2 started convulsing from the electricity and lost control of himself. Kai-2 felt himself draining too much energy away from Jay-2. Kai-2 tried to pull himself away from Jay-2 but the lightning was too much for him to escape. Jay-2 couldn’t stop shocking Kai-2 because he was frozen from being slowly drained of energy. The two ninja were locked together, slowly killing each other. 

“Cole, help!” Kai-2 pleaded.

Cole-2 ran over and tackled Kai-2 away from Jay-2. Jay-2 fell to the ground, near lifeless. 

“Jay!” Nya exclaimed as she ran over to check on him.

Jay-2 looked like he should’ve died from Kai-2’s attack. He was unconscious, pale, and looked exhausted. He looked as though he just suddenly dropped weight he couldn’t afford to lose. Simply put, Jay-2 looked as though he was on the brink of death. 

Nya-2 looked up at Kai-2, “What did you do?!”

Kai-2 and Cole-2 both got up and ran over to Jay-2. Nya-2 checked Jay-2 and confirmed that he still had a pulse.

Cole-2 turned to Kai-2, “How much of his energy did you drain?!”

“I-I don’t know.” Kai-2 admitted.

“Well give it back!” Nya-2 demanded.

Kai-2 put his hands on Jay-2’s chest and tried to send the energy back. Nothing happened.

“It’s not working.” Kai-2 said in a panicked tone.

“Well try again!” Cole-2 demanded.

Kai-2’s fingers trembled as he tried to give Jay-2 his energy back. Kai-2 tried again and again, eventually he started panicking as he realized that he couldn’t help Jay-2.

“Why isn’t it working?” Kai-2 asked.

“We need to get him to a hospital.” Cole-2 declared.

“We’re on an island, Cole,” Nya-2 argued, “it’ll take too long.”

“Or...you could wish for it.” A voice suggested from behind them.

Cole-2, Nya-2, and Kai-2 turned around to find Nadakhan floating behind them.

“Nadakhan.” Flintlocke started, “They...they killed Dogshank.”

“Yes, yes, I know.” Nadakhan dismissed, “You and Clancy are needed back in Djinjago.”

Nadakhan snapped his fingers and Clancy, Flintlocke, and the other Sky Pirates disappeared. However, Dogshank’s body was left behind. Then Nadalkhan turned to the ninja. 

“I told you your friend had a bloodlust, Cole.” Nadakhan teased, “Had you listened to me, we wouldn’t have been in this situation. I must admit, I admire the efforts you ninja are giving to hurt Jay. I suppose you just couldn’t help yourselves, no?”

“Leave us alone!” Cole demanded.

“But don’t you want to save Jay?” Nadakhan asked, “I’ll make a deal with you, I will allow you to make a wish to send Jay to a hospital. No tricks, no misinterpretations.”

“No tricks?” Kai-2 asked.

“No tricks.” Nadakhan confirmed.

“Why would we believe you?” Nya-2 questioned.

“Because, my sweet Dalara,” Nadakhan started, “I’m enjoying this game we are in. Cole wishes for the death of Jay’s parents, Jay becomes a murderer as a result, and you all hide everything you can from him. I, for one, can’t wait to see how this all blows up in your face. I want Jay to live as much as you do so trust me when I say, make the wish.”

Cole-2 looked at Kai-2 and Nya-2. If they rejected Nadakhan, they’d have to get back to the boat and sail for days before they could even get to a hospital, what choice did they have? This was Jay-2’s life on the line, Cole-2 wasn’t going to risk it. But still, Cole-2 wanted to be specific with his wish.

Cole-2 swallowed before saying, “Nadakhan, I wish you would teleport me, Jay, Kai, and Nya to the Emergency room of the best hospital in Ninjago City and a fast yet safe way.”

Nadakhan grinned, “Your wish is yours to keep.”

Jay-2 woke up with a start. He tried to take a deep breath but it hurt. Jay-2 felt as if he had a ton of bricks laying on his chest, crushing him every time he tried to take a breath. Yet he felt light as a feather, as if he could be thrown around with no hope to fight back. He felt exhausted, weak, frail, and not complete. Something was missing, Jay-2 didn’t know what it was, but it was gone. Jay-2 felt emptiness inside him.  
Jay-2 struggled to look around and take in his environment. The light was blinding at first, but Jay-2 slowly adapted and figured out that he was in a hospital room. Jay-2 tried to move his arms but couldn't, it was as if something was holding them back.

“How are you feeling?” a voice asked.

Jay-2 turned himself to the voice and saw Cole-2 sitting in a chair alongside the bed. 

“What happened?”

“Kai, he didn’t just drain your energy.” Cole answered, “He...took something from you. We don’t know what it is but the guess is that between the combo of the lightning and energy took part of your soul.”

“My soul?” Jay-2 asked, “How was that even possible?”

“I don’t know.” Cole-2 admitted.

Jay-2 sat back and struggled to take a deep breath, “He almost killed me…”

Cole-2 let out a deep breath, “He didn’t mean to.”

Jay-2 started to reply but started coughing. He sat up and Cole-2 walked over to pat on his back. After a few minutes, Jay-2’s coughing fit subsided and Cole-2 offered him a glass of water. Jay-2 took a sip of the water as Cole-2 sat back down.

“Where’s Kai and Nya?” Jay-2 questioned.

“They’re getting ready.” Cole-2 explained, “We’re going to try to take out Nadakhan with the venom.”

Jay-2 sat up, “Ok, how long until we leave?”

Cole-2 looked down, “You’re staying here.”

Jay-2 knitted his eyebrows as he processed what Cole-2 just told him. It didn’t help that Jay-2 had suddenly become aware of the handcuffs that chained him to the hospital bed. Jay-2 struggled against the cuffs and started coughing from the effort.  
Cole-2 felt a ball of guilt form in his throat. He did this to Jay, none of this would’ve happened if he hadn’t made that stupid wish.

Jay-2 recovered and asked, “Why am I chained here? And what do you mean i’m ‘staying here’?”

“We’re keeping you here until we beat Nadakhan.” Cole-2 elaborate, “Afterwards, we’ll get you the help you need.”

Jay-2’s eyes widened, “You’re gonna abandon me? Why?”

Cole-2 winced at the sound of Jay-2’s hoarse voice, “You killed someone, Jay, and then you threatened to kill again. You lost control of your lightning and shocked Nya and Kai. And you almost died. We still don’t know what Kai did to you, but you’re not leaving the hospital until we figure out how to help you.”

Jay-2 grimaced, “I-I can help, you have to let me help you. I won’t hurt anyone else, I promise! Please...”

“No.” Cole-2 firmly said, “I don’t want to say it, but you’re too unstable to come with us.”

Cole-2 tried to ignore the look of betrayal on Jay-2’s face, “We made sure you’ll be safe and comfortable here.”

“I’ll get out of here.” Jay-2 claimed, “I’ll find you guys and I’ll prove that i’m under control.”

Cole-2 stood up from his chair, “No you won’t, we put vengestone in those cuffs, and they’re lock proof.”

Jay-2 looked Cole-2 in the eyes, “You’d just...lock me up like this?”

Cole-2 clenched his jaw and looked away, “We’ll be back as soon as possible Jay. I promise.”

Jay-2’s eyes grew watery as Cole-2 started to leave the room, “Please Cole! Don’t leave me. Please!”

Cole-2 shut the door behind him and didn’t look back. He wiped the tears off of his face as he walked out of the hospital.

Jay-2 laid in the hospital for what felt like days. He reflected on everything that had happened in the recent weeks. His parents died, he bacame a killer, he almost died, and now he’s too weak to do anything to help. His friend thought he was unstable, so they locked him up and abandoned him.  
This wasn’t fair, none of it was. Jay-2 gave everything he had to protect Ninjago and now his life had been destroyed because of it. He should’ve been the one to die, not his parents. They were sweet and loving, they’d never hurt a fly. Why did Jay-2 get to live when his parents were the ones who never killed anyone? Why did any of the Sky Pirates get to live when his parents were the ones who never stole from others? Why did Nadakhan get to live when his parents didn’t...why did Nadakhan get to live?  
All at once, Jay-2 mind switched gears as he found a new drive. His parents were dead, nothing was going to change that, and he wasn’t going to let Nadakhan win by trying to use up his wishes bringing them back. But he could avenge them, he could make sure that no one ever had to suffer the same fate that they did. Jay-2 sat down in the shower as ideas formulated in his head. He began to formulate a new decision about the situation, Nadakhan didn’t deserve to live. Nadakhan had to die, and Jay-2 was going to be the one to kill him.  
Jay-2 knew he couldn’t rely on the ninja. They were disgusted with him enough to throw him away. Jay--2 couldn’t blame but it still hurt. Jay-2 would turn himself in after this was over, but first he needed justice. Or was it revenge? Did it even matter anymore? It wouldn’t to the ninja, he’d be a criminal to them regardless...even Cole-2 wouldn’t look at him the same way.  
That made Jay-2 pause, his actions would almost certainly kill off what little friendship he and Cole-2 still had. Jay-2 knew he didn’t love Cole-2 but he was the one who was there for Jay-2 the most. The one good thing out of all of this was that Cole-2 and Jay-2 were able to form some kind of reconciliation. Hopefully, Cole-2 would be at least open to rekindling their friendship after Nadakhan was dead.  
Jay-2 sighed, he was going to kill Nadakhan, even if it killed his relationship with the ninja. Jay-2 knew what he had to do, he just had to bide his time until he could do it.

It was a week later when Cole-2 returned. He was bruised and had a slight limp to his step. Cole-2 walked into the hospital room to see that Jay-2 was still cuffed to the bed. He didn’t look like he made any recovery and he almost seemed as if he expected Cole-2 to arrive.

“What happened?” Jay-2 asked.

“Kai-2’s been trapped in the Djinn blade and Nya-2 was kidnapped.” Cole-2 confessed, “She and Nadakhan are getting married tomorrow...I need your help.”

Jay-2 looked at his body and at the injured Cole-2, “We’ll need help. There’s no way we can stop him on our own.”

“I know.” Cole-2 replied, “I already have The Commissioner, Ronin, Morro, and Captain Soto on our team.”

“Morro?” Jay-2 asked, “Are you sure?”

“We don’t have a choice.” Cole-2 defended, “If Nadakhan marries Nya, he’ll be all powerful. We’ll deal with Morro later.”

Cole-2 was right, they couldn’t afford to deny any help.

“Do you have a plan?” Jay-2 asked.

“Flintlocke's on our side now.” Cole-2 revealed to Jay-2’s surprise, “And we still have the Tiger widow venom. We’ll free our friends from the Djinn blade first. Then we’ll lead Nadakhan out into the open and Flintlocke will shoot Nadakhan and i’ll use my last wish to stop Nadakhan.”

Jay-2 thought over the plan. He decided that he'd wait until Cole-2 depowered Nadakhan before killing him. But first, they needed to actually stop Nadakhan. 

“Ok.” Jay-2 shook his hand to draw attention to the cuff, “Set me free, and then let’s get out of here.”

Cole-2 hesitated, “First you have to promise me that you won’t kill anyone else.”

Jay-2 rolled his, “I’m not gonna ruin your plan Cole, I won–”

“It’s not about that!” Cole-2 suddenly yelled, “I don’t want you losing yourself, Jay. Ever since Nadakhan showed up you’ve been losing your spark. You’re turning into someone I don’t know and I miss you, I miss the person you were. And I’m scared that if you keep going down this path, you’re going to lose everything that makes you, you.”

Jay-2 narrowed his eyebrows as his head was plunged into a state of confusion. Of all the things he expected Cole-2 to say, that was not one of them. Did Cole-2 really care about Jay-2 that much? Was Jay-2 losing himself? No, he couldn’t, he had a job to do. He had to bring Nadakhan to justice, or was it murder? Did it matter? Jay-2 was starting to think that it just might.

“Jay,” Cole-2 interrupted, “please promise me that you won’t kill anyone else.”

Jay-2 looked at Cole-2, the one person who seemed to truly care about him, his friend. 

“I won’t.” Jay-2 responded, though he didn’t know if he was lying or not.

Cole-2 seemed to relax at that, “Good.” 

Cole-2 walked over and unlocked Jay-2’s cuffs, “Come on, let’s go stop a wedding.”

And so Cole-2, Jay-2, the Commissioner, Ronin, Morro, and Captain Soto made their way to Djinjago, though Cole-2 had to carry Jay-2 pretty much the whole time. Jay-2 could walk fine, anything that required more physical effort was simply too much for him to bear.  
Still, Cole-2 was able to steal the Djinn Blade, thanks to a distraction from Nya, while everyone else fought the Sky Pirates. Then the rest of the team retreated into a shed.

“Jay, you can’t fight the Sky Pirates,” Cole-2 said, “you should get everyone out of the Djinn Blade.”

“No offense,” Morro started, “but Jay can barely walk. Do you really think he can free the ninja?”

“We don’t have a choice,” Cole-2 argued, “there’s too many Sky Pirates out there. Jay, you free the ninja, we’ll hold the Pirates off.”

“Alright,” Jay-2 replied, “let’s do this.”

“I don’t get paid enough for this nonsense.” Commissioner muttered to himself as he drew his revolver.

Cole-2 looked out the window, “Here they come!”

With that, Cole-2, the Commissioner, Ronin, Morro, and Captain Soto charged out of the shed to fight the Sky Pirates and buy Jay-2 enough time to free the ninja. The plan worked and the ninja were freed. Once everyone was caught up on the events that happened, The ninja formed a plan. The Commissioner, Ronin, Julien, and Morro would go down to the city and evacuate the civilians in case the plan failed. Garmadon would grab the Destiny's Bounty to grab the Ninja should Djinnjago be destroyed. The Ninja would go stop Nadakhan from getting married and would defeat him once and for all. 

“We get one shot at this.” Cole-2 emphasized, “Let’s make it count.”

With that, Cole-2, Jay-2, Kai-2, Zane, Dareth-2, and Skylor-2 run to stop Nadakhan from marrying Nya-2. They were too late, however, as Nadakhan had already gotten his infinite wishes by the time they broke into the church. Nadakhan got rid of Clancy and then attacked the ninja.  
After a lengthy chase, the Ninja, along with Flintlocke, were pushed back to the Misfortune's Keep. Cole-2 dropped Jay-2 from his piggyback ride while the Ninja recuperated. There, they made a new plan while Nadakhan resurrected Dalara through Nya-2's body.

“I’ll shoot him with the Tiger Widow venom from afar.” Flintlocke suggested, “You just need to get him out in the open.”

“Then that’s exactly what the rest of us will do.” Kai-2 instructed, “Except you, Jay, you need to stay here.”

Jay-2 was clearly annoyed at that, “No, I–”

“Kai’s right,” Cole-2 defended, “You can’t fight or run. It’ll be too much danger for you.

“I’ll be fine.” Jay-2 argued.

“Are you even able to use your lightning?” Zane pondered, “If not, then the best course of action would be to stay here.”

Jay-2 grew quiet and the rest of the ninja went to take the fight to Nadakhan at the broken temple, leaving just Flintlocke and Jay-2 on the Misfortune’s Keep.

Flintlocke loaded the venom into his gun and looked at Jay-2, “You wanted to go with them?”

“Yeah.” Jay-2 confirmed.

“...You wanna kill him right? Since he killed your mom and dad?” Flintlocke asked.

“Yeah, I think.”

Jay-2 didn’t respond so Flintlocke pulled out his second gun, “Here, take this. It’ll be enough to take him out.”

Jay-2 took the gun and stuffed it into his ninja gi, “Thanks.”

Flintlocke thought for a second before saying, “I’m not gonna stop you if you go get him. You just give the signal and I’ll fire.”

“The Ninja are right though, I can’t ran or–”

Jay-2’s whole world was twisted for a second and then he landed on the ground with a mild case of stomach nausea. Flintlocke was no longer right beside him and Jay-2 was no longer on the Misfortune’s Keep. Instead, he was surrounded by the other ninja, Dalara,...and Nadakhan.

“Jay?” Skylor-2 asked out of shock.

“I’m glad you could join us, Jay.” Nadakhan teased, “Granting wishes is so much more fun when i’m the one wishing them.”

Jay-2 figured that Nadakhan must’ve wished for him to be teleported to him. But why? Why was he so important that Nadakhan needed him literally at the center of everything. Was this just to torture him even more?  
Ja-2 tried to control his breathing as he looked into the eyes of the man who murdered his parents. At this moment Jay-2 didn’t feel anger nor guilt or even sadness. Instead, all he felt was fear.

“Don’t be scared, Jay.” Nadakhan instructed, “After all, we have so much to talk about.”

“Don’t listen to him!” Cole-2 called out.

“Jay, get out of the way.” Kai-2 ordered, “Ninja, attack!”

The ninja all rushed at Nadakhan but the Djinn was too fast.

“I wished you all couldn’t move.”

Immediately, the ninja stopped mid-sprint. Jay-2 was frozen on the and struggled to move. He, just like the rest of the ninja were aware of everything that had happened, yet they couldn’t even twitch a single muscle in their body. 

Nadakhan hovered ever so closer to Jay-2, “Finally, we can talk with no interruptions.”

“Nadakhan,” Dalara whined in a sultry voice, “why are the Ninja so important to you? Don’t you want to just kill them off and be done with it?”

Nadakhan grabbed Dalara’s hand, “In time my beloved, but first…” Nadakhan let go of Dalara and turned to Jay-2, “I wish you could move again.”

Jay-2 instantly felt himself regain what mobility he had left and took a deep breath to clear his thoughts. Then Jay-2 quickly stood up and tried to blast Nadakhan with a bolt of lightning, only nothing came out. Jay-2 was bewildered but tried again and again to conjure his lightning, instead he was able to conjure himself a coughing fit.

“Poor Jay,” Nadakhan teased, “can’t save your parents, can’t use your lightning, can’t even stand up straight.”

Jay-2 struggled to get to his knees, and then his feet.

Nadakhan smiled and continued talking, “Did you ever wonder why I murdered your parents?”

Jay-2 balled his fists and struggled to catch his breath, “Does it matter?”

“Of course it does.” Nadakhan claimed, “it mattered because someone wished for me to murder them.”

Jay-2’s stance became defensive, “What? No, you’re lying, no one would ever want to hurt them!”

Nadakhan smiled, “Oh but someone did. They made a wish, a simple wish that resulted in your parents’ death Jay. I could show you, if you so desired.”

Jay-2 knew Nadakhan was just messing with him. He killed his parents, there’s no way anyone else would want to, right?

“You-you’re lying to me!” Jay-2 accused, “You’re just trying to get to me!” 

“You don’t believe me?” Nadakhan mocked, “Fine, i’ll show you myself. But first...I wish that Cole could move again.”

Instantly, Cole-2 fell down and Jay-2 made his way to him, “Cole, are you alright?”

Cole-2 was not alright, Nadakhan was about to reveal everything. Cole-2 became furious with himself, he should’ve told Jay-2 everything when he had the chance.

“Jay,” Cole-2 desperately started, “I have to tell you something.”

“I don't think so,” Nadakhan started, “it’s too late for you to confess your sins.”

“Sins?” Jay-2 asked.

Cole-2 looked at his soon to be former best friend, “Jay, I-”

“I wish you would shut up!” Nadakhan commanded.

Cole-2 suddenly felt a muzzle on his face, covering his mouth so he couldn’t talk.

Jay-2 turned around and put himself between Cole-2 and Nadakhan, “Let him go.”

Nadakhan ignored Jay-2 and simply uttered, “I wish that Jay and Cole would relive all of Cole’s secrets.”

All at once, Cole-2 and Jay-2 were bombarded with the memories of the Black ninja’s secrets. They both saw the wish that Cole-2 made. They saw the conversation that Cole-2 had with Nadakhan the night after Jay-2 first murdered the Sky Pirate. Lastly, they saw the meeting that Cole-2 held with Nya-2, Kai-2, and Zane where he told them of his wish and they agreed to not tell Jay-2. Jay-2 saw everything that Cole-2 had so desperately tried to hide from him.

Now that Jay-2 had seen everything, Nadakhan had pulled both of the ninja back into reality. Jay-2 fell to the ground and Cole-2 took the muzzle off and starred at Jay-2. Jay-2 stared back at Cole-2, not wanting to believe what he just saw. Did Cole-2 really wish for this? Did he and the others know?

Cole-2 slowly approached Jay-2, “Jay...I–”

“Is it true?” Jay-2 asked, “Everything that we just saw, is it true?”

Cole-2 felt his mouth go dry, “Jay it was an acci–”

“Is. It. True?!” Jay-2 demanded to know.

Cole-2 felt his eyes grow red and watery, the look that Jay-2 gave him was soul crushing. He wanted so badly to wake up right now, to say that this was all a bad dream. But it wasn’t, this was his reality, it was Jay-2’s reality. There was no hiding now, Cole-2 had to come clean.

Cole-2 bit his lip and looked Jay-2 in his eyes, “Yes.”

And just like that, Jay-2’s world twisted upside down. He clutched his stomach and fell to the ground, everything around him was muffled and all Jay-2 could think about was his breathing and his jumbled thoughts. All this time, Cole-2 had been there for him when he was the one who got Jay-2’s parents killed. The ninja had promised that they’d be there for him and then betrayed him. They abandoned him, and for what? Jay-2 couldn’t breath, he felt the world closing in on him. He felt betrayed, hurt, abandoned, and broken.

Betrayed

Hurt 

Abandoned

Broken

Cole-2 cautiously approached Jay-2, “Jay, I-I-I’m so sorry.”

Cole-2 moved to try and to hug Jay-2. Instead, Jay-2 tried to push him away, which didn’t work with Jay-2’s weakened strength. As a result, he actually pushed himself onto the ground, not budging the Earth ninja in the slightest. Cole-2 took a step to help Jay-2, but the lightning ninja desperately crawled back away from him. 

“Jay…” Cole-2 pleaded.

“Get away from me!” Jay-2 angrily screamed at Cole-2.

Nadakhan floated around Jay-2 and leaned down to talk to him, “It seems that your ‘friends’ were never really looking out for you, Jay.”

“I didn’t know what he was going to do Jay, I swear!” Cole-2 exclaimed.

“Cole could’ve easily tried to fix your relationship without any wishes, Jay.” Nadakhan observed, “Instead, he took the easy way out. He doesn’t care about you as a friend, he just didn’t want to deal with the turmoil of losing the benefits of befriending you. If he did care about you, he would’ve put in the effort.”

“It’s not like that, Jay.” Cole-2 insisted.

Nadakhan floated in front Jay-2, blocking Cole-2 from his sight and forcing the Lightning ninja to focus on him.

Nadakhan spoke up, “Had he not wished for you two to be friends, I would’ve had no reason to harm your precious parents.”

Jay-2 couldn’t think straight, he was too torn to do so. Cole-2 didn’t want his parents dead, but he got them killed regardless. He made the wish, he hid that secret from Jay-2 all the while befriending Jay-2, just as he wished for. Cole-2 got exactly what he wanted and Jay-2 lost everything because of it.  
How could Jay-2 be so foolish? He should’ve known something was off from the beginning. He should’ve known that Cole-2 wouldn’t have suddenly started caring about him with no reason.  
Nadakhan was right, Cole-2 never cared for him. He was just there so he could be the hero for Jay-2 and avoid the turmoil. Or maybe it was out of pity? Or perhaps it was a way to throw any suspicion off of him. There was no way Cole-2 sat by and watched Jay-2 struggle and suffer, knowing he was the cause of all of it. Nadakhan’s voice cut through Jay-2’s thoughts like a knife on butter.

“I wish all the ninja could move again.”

The ninja all unfroze and regained their composure.

“What happened?” Skylor-2 asked.

“Talk to us, Jay” Dareth-2 started, “What happened to you?”

Cole-2 completely forgot, Dareth-2 and Skylor-2 were kidnapped before they could find out about everything. They had no idea what Cole-2 or the other ninja did.

“Jay.” Zane called out, “You mustn’t give in to Nadakhan’s manipulations. Nadakhan’s the one who killed your parents.”

“And you’re the one who knew that Cole wished for it.” Nadakhan countered, “You’re the one who hid it from Jay.” Nadakhan then turned towards Jay-2, “These are your friends, Jay? First Cole uses you for his sexual pleasure, then he gets your parents killed. Then the ninja hides secrets from you, secrets you deserved to know. And then Kai drained your energy and almost killed you. It seems they don’t think too highly of you, Jay, hmm?”

“Jay, don’t listen to him.” Kai-2 advised.

“And who should I listen to, you?!” Jay-2 snapped, “You’ve all been lying to me! All this time…”

“Yes Jay,” Nadakhan encouraged, “give in to your hate. Take it out on the people who hurt you.”

Jay-2 felt alone, so alone. He didn’t trust any of these people anymore, they’re putting on faces of sadness yet they never seemed sad when they were lying to Jay-2, and not when they wished for his life to be ruined. These people who had constantly condemned him for his actions were the ones stabbing him in the back. Maybe they didn’t condemn him because of the morality behind it, maybe the ninja condemned his revenge because they feared what he would do to them should he figure out the truth.  
But why did they act this way? If the roles had been reversed, Jay-2 knew he would tell the ninja the truth. He wouldn’t lie to them, why couldn’t they do the same for him? It was because they didn’t see him as important enough, not good enough. They truly didn't care about him.  
No, Jay-2 was not with these people anymore, it was him against the ninja against Nadakhan. Nadakhan, he was the biggest threat right now, he had to be stopped. First, he’d help the Ninja defeat Nadakhan, after that...Jay-2 didn’t know what would happen then.

“You hurt me, Nadakhan.” Jay-2 stated.

Jay-2 tried his absolute hardest to rush Nadakhan, but it was for not. Jay-2 was still drained of most his energy and as a result, he didn’t stand a chance. On Nadakhan’s bottom left arm, his hand had been replaced with a sharp hook. Nadakhan swung his hook at Jay-2 and made contact with his face.  
Pain exploded in Jay’s right eye as he was thrown to the ground. His vision in his right eye vanished and he felt blood leaking from the socket. Jay-2 laid on the ground, trying not to pass out from the injury he just received.

“Jay!” Cole-2 called.

“I'll kill you for that!” Kai-2 called out.

In that moment, the other Ninja engaged Nadakhan and Dalara in a final battle, except for Cole-2. He rushed to Jay-2’s side and attempted to treat the Lightning ninja. Instead, Jay-2 struggled to push Cole-2 off of him. Jay-2 struggled to get to his feet, and when he did, the lack of a working eye made it harder for him to keep his balance. Jay-2 couldn’t take out Nadakhan, not on his own. He could signal Flintlocke but there were too many other people to fire the Tiger Widow venom.  
Nadakhan solved that problem, however, as he froze all the ninja again. That is, all the ninja besides Jay-2. Jay-2 just needed to lure Nadakhan out in the open and this would all be over. While Nadakhan was dancing with Dalara, Jay-2 limped out into the open area of the temple.

“Nadakhan!” Jay-2 yelled.

Nadakhan and Dalara both stopped dancing and approached the lone Ninja. Jay-2 slowly backed away as his two opponents closed in on him. Jay-2 was exhausted, his heart was broken, he only had one good eye, He just learned that he was betrayed by all of his friends, He had most of his energy drained, and all of Ninjago relied on him to stop an all powerful being.

“You’re all alone, Jay.” Nadakhan claimed, “What are you going to do now?”

“I’m not alone.” Jay-2 argued, “Now Flintlocke!”

Jay-2 dropped to the ground and a shot rang out. Faster than anyone could react, the Tiger Widow venom was shot out and hit Nadakhan square in the chest.  
It was immediately obvious that the Djinn’s powers were weakening because Nya-2 regained control of her body and the rest of the Ninja were unfrozen. The Ninja got up and surrounded Nadakhan while Cole-2 ran to check on Nya-2. Jay-2 limped over to Nadakhan and the right side of his face was caked with blood. 

“We have to wish this all away.” Skylor-2 said. 

“Nya!” Cole-2 cried out.

The ninja turned around to find that Nya-2 had a large blotch of venom on her arms and chest.

“Tiger Widow venom,” Zane explained, “It can make a Djinn weak enough that he has to obey your wishes, yet all it takes is one drop to kill a fully grown adult.”

Nya-2 collapsed and Cole-2 and Kai-2 rushed to her side.

“We have to do something!” Kai-2 shouted.

Cole-2 thought for a second before making a realization, “Wait, I still have one more wish.”

Kai-2 turned to Cole-2, “Fucking use it!”

Cole-2 turned to the now dying Nya-2, he had to be specific about this.

“I wish that Nya Smith was immune to the Tiger Widow venom.”

The wish seemed to work as Nya-2 woke up and asked, “What happened?” 

“Oh thank god.” Kai-2 said.

“Cole, Kai, get away from Nya.” Zane commanded, “She still has the venom on her.”

While Cole-2 and Kai-2 backed up from Nya-2, Jay-2 limped over to Nadakhan.

“What do you plan on doing now, Jay?” Nadakhan asked.

Jay-2 knew what he had to do. Nadakhan needed to be dealt with, permanently, and no one was going to stop him from doing it.

“I’m going to kill you.” Jay-2 responded in a serious tone, “Nadakhan, I wish you were mortal.”

“Jay.” Zane calmly started, “I know you want this to all be over, but you shouldn’t kill him.”  
“Zane’s right.” Kai-2 added, “This isn’t who you are.”

Jay-2 stared Nadakhan down with his one good eye and responded to the ninja, “Are you really trying to tell me what I am or am not?”

“Jay.” Cole-2 called formed behind him, “I know we–I messed up. If I could take it all back, I would. But please, don’t do this to yourself.”

Jay-2 refused to listen to Cole-2 and made his move. He pulled out the gun that Flintlocke gave him and fired one round straight into Nadakhan’s forehead. The Djinn fell to the floor, dead, yet Jay-2 didn’t care. He limped over, his breathing rugged and heavy, and fired repeatedly into Nadakhan until the gun ran out of ammo. Jay-2 then dropped the gun onto the floor and sat down on the ground, trying to catch his breath. Jay-2 was aware that the ninja were talking to him, but he just ignored them, what was the point? Unfortunately, the ground of Djinjago started shaking as the entire floating realm became unstable.

“Now that Nadakhan’s dead, there’s no magic to hold up Djinjago.” Zane realized.

“We need to get out here!” Dareth-2 screamed, “I’m too pretty to die.”

Just then a large chunk of Djinjago collapsed, completely falling onto Ninjago City below. 

“We need to go, now!” Nya-2 exclaimed.

“Where’s Garmadon?!” Kai-2 asked as part of the temple fell down to the city below.

Was if it was timed, The Destiny’s Bounty rose out of the clouds and circled the ninja. The ship lowered to the point that it was hovering about ground and Garmadon appeared over the side.

“Are you waiting for a party?!” Garmadon asked as he kicked the ladder down, “Get on!”

The ninja didn’t hesitate to use their airjitzu to quickly get on the Bounty, except for Jay-2 that is. Jay-2 continued to sit and stare at the body of Nadakhan as Djinjago collapsed all around him. But he was ok with this, with dying. Well he wasn’t but what were his other options? There was no way he’d go back with the ninja, not after everything they did to him. He could turn himself in, but by dying, he’d hopefully get to see his parents again. There was no situation where he’d win, but at least that’d be a comfort. As another part of Djinjago broke away and collapsed the city underneath, Jay-2 closed his eyes and accepted his fate. 

However, Cole-2 had a different plan for Jay-2 as he dived over the Bounty. Cole-2 landed on Djinjago and scoped up Jay-2, who was too exhausted and weak to fight back. Then Cole-2 used airjitzu to carry them both up to the Destiny's Bounty. Cole-2 and Jay-2 landed on the deck of the Bounty and the ship took off. Cole-2 gently set Jay-2 down while the other ninja watched in horror as Djinjago fell onto and flattened large chunks of Ninjago City.  
Jay-2 took one last look at Cole-2, the man who ruined his life. Then the mental, physical, and emotional exhaustion became too much for him and Jay-2 passed out.

Later

Jay-2 shuffled down the hallway of the prison as he made his way to his new cell. It’d only been a few hours since his sentencing and he was already being escorted by the prison guards, Nya-2, Kai-2, and Cole-2, as if he wanted them there.After Djinjago collapsed, Jay-2 surrendered himself and confessed to being guilty for the mass carnage. Why? Because it was his fault, nothing more, nothing less.  
Ronin-2 and Flintlocke were just two of the nine hundred and thirty seven lives lost during the fall of Djinjago. Jay-2 was sentenced to life in prison for directly contributing to the destruction of Ninjago City. Morro had voluntarily gone back into the prison so now they had two ‘highly dangerous prisoners’ to deal with  
At least the City would rebuild, Cyrus Borg-2 was already drawing up plans to modernize Ninjago City with an emphasis on electrical technologies like electric cars, automated hospitals, and electric weapons. They still had to figure out how to deal with all the excess Electromagnetic radiation that’d inevitably be produced but it was a start.  
Jay-2 felt his right eye itch and instinctively reached up to scratch it, only to feel his eyepatch instead. That’s right, there was no right eye, not anymore, the infection and Nadakhan’s hook had seen to that. The doctors did say that he might feel itchiness in his right socket, something about it being ‘Phantom Eye Syndrome’. They also said that he would get used to seeing through one eye but Jay-2 wasn’t so sure.  
Finally, they reached the cell, Jay-2’s new home, the guards opened it and Jay-2 stepped into the room. It was small, dark, and cramp. Jay-2 wouldn’t have been surprised if there was mold growing in there. 

“Alright,” a Prison guard started, “this is your cell, get used to it.”

The prison guard got ready to look Jay-2 into his room when Kai-2 spoke up.

“Wait. something needs to be said.” Kai-2 turned to Jay-2, “Jay, I know that you don't have anything to do with us but i’m not giving up on you. I’m going to find a way to reverse what I did to you Jay, I promise.”

Jay-2 didn’t respond to Kai-2 and Nya-2 took the time to add, “We’ll be here if you ever need us.”

Nya-2 tried to take Jay-2’s hand, but he harshly pulled away, “Don’t touch me.”

Nya-2 took the hint and backed up. 

Kai-2 cleared his throat, “Jay, I just want you to know that you’re always welcome back with us. You’ll always be a ninja and a part of our team.”

Jay-2 stepped further into the cell, “I’d rather spend the rest of my life in this cell.”

Kai-2 looked down and then backed up. He and Nya-2 left the room with all but one of the guards. Cole-2 looked at Jay-2 who just faced away from him.

“Come on Jay,” Cole-2 softly spoke, “please...say something.”

Jay-2’s lips trembled as he quite said, “I hate you...and I wish that i’d never met you.”

Cole-2 wiped a tear away from his eyes as he and the guard exited the room, locking the door and leaving Jay-2 alone in his cell. Jay-2 laid down on his bed and reflected on Kai-2’s offer. Could Jay-2 ever be the lightning ninja he used to be? No. No he couldn’t ever go back. 

Jay-2 wasn’t a ninja anymore, not now, not ever…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Next chapter, we'll get back into the main story.


	13. Making Drugs and Meeting Doppelgangers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ninja search for a way to cure Cole. Meanwhile, all three versions of Kai finally meet up.

“Come on Jay,” Cole-2 softly spoke, “please...say something.”

Jay-2’s lips trembled as he quite said, “I hate you...and I wish that i’d never met you.”

Cole-2 wiped a tear away from his eyes as he and the guard exited the room, locking the door and leaving Jay-2 alone in his cell. Jay-2 laid down on his bed and reflected on Kai-2’s offer. Could Jay-2 ever be the lightning ninja he used to be? No. No he couldn’t ever go back. 

Jay-2 wasn’t a ninja anymore, not now, not ever…

Now

Jay leaned back in his chair, having to process the story he’d just heard. Cole-2 sat across from him, failing to fake a look of neutrality. Jay considered everything about the story, Cole-2’s wish, Jay-2’s killing spree, Cole-2’s lack of honesty, Jay-2’s inadvertent destruction of the city. There was so much to unpack, where there were also truths that were undeniable.

“It was your fault.” Jay quietly admitted, “You made the wish, you lied to him, and then you left him locked up.”

Cole-2 winced but didn’t look surprised, “I know.”

“It’s your fault, but not because of the wish, that was Nadakhan.” Jay continued, “It’s your fault because you never told him about it. You knew what he was doing to get Nadakhan, when were you going to tell him?”

“I don’t know Jay,” Cole-2 admitted.

Jay leaned forward, “Do you know how to restore him? Do you know how to fix his soul?”

“My Kai does.” Cole-2 answered, “He went on a journey to find out. Problem is that Jay-2 would need to consensually open himself up to get part of his soul back and Jay-2...he’s not the trusting type, especially for me and Kai-2.” 

Jay thought that was understandable, if Lloyd almost killed him he wouldn’t be too trusting of him, though it was an accident with Jay-2 and Kai-2. It all felt like one big accident made worse by consistent bad decision making. 

“Look Jay,” Cole-2 started, “I get how you feel about the whole situation. Trust me, there’s nothing you can say to me that I haven’t said to myself.”

“Don’t tempt me,” Jay muttered as he leaned back in his chair.

“Look, not everything’s your fault.” Jay started, “Nadakhan twisted your wish into something horrible. Jay-2 killed those people because he wanted to. But you made things so much worse, I don’t–”

“Jay.” A voice interrupted.

Jay turned around to find Nya and Lloyd standing behind him.

“What’s up?” Jay asked.

Nya leaned down next to Jay and took his hand, “It’s Cole, he’s overdosed on Black Mask’s drugs.”

“What?!” Jay stood up from his chair, “Where is he? Is he ok?”

“He’s fine for now.” Lloyd reassured, “Pixal and Zane have stabilized him, but they also want to talk to us.”

“Well let’s go then.” Jay said.

“I’ll come too,” Cole-2 said as he stood up from his chair, “he’s my doppelganger and–”

“No.” Jay asserted, “We don’t need you right now.”

Lloyd arched an eyebrow, Jay was rarely assertive with anyone, and he sounded frustrated with Cole-2. Lloyd pushed that thought to the side as Cole-2 backed down while Jay left with him and Nya. The three ninja then walked into the Medbay room where Kai, Wu, Pixal, Skylor, Dareth-2, and Zane were waiting for them. They were surrounding a bed that contained the very sickly Cole.

“What’s he doing here?” Nya asked while pointing at Dareth-2.

“Cole!” Jay exclaimed as he rushed over to his best friend. 

Pixal softly grabbed Jay’s arm, “Please refrain from touching Cole. We do not believe that physical stimuli will hurt his already fragile mental state, however we’d prefer to be safe.”

“Ok.” Jay said as he backed away from the bed.

“Now that we’re all here,” Wu spoke up, “care to explain what’s wrong with Cole?”

“Black Mask’s hallucinogenic drugs are rapidly increasing Cole’s brain activity by a dangerous amount.” Pixal explained, “We need to find a cure before the neurodegeneration becomes permanent.”

“How long do we have?” Lloyd asked. 

“Cole is sedated right now.” Pixal answered, “And as such, we have managed to slow the increase of his brain activity enough to buy him two weeks. After that, the neurodegeneration will become too advanced to stop.”

Kai shook his head, “God damnit, I should’ve known something was wrong.”

“Nonsense.” Wu argued, “It seems that Cole took great lengths to hide this from us, none of us are at fault.”

Kai grumbled and leaned back against the wall.

“So what do we do?” Jay questioned, “How do we fix him?”

Zane pulled out his notes and started, “We need three specific parts to devise a cure. We need horse tranquilizer, it will give Cole a temporary high. But more importantly, it will counter the hallucination of the drug, thus lowering his stress level strengthening his immune system. Next, we’ll need Rohypnol. It’s a sedative that lowers Cole’s brain activity enough for the rest of the antidote to work. While the rest of you get those two compounds, Pixal, Dareth, and I will use Cole’s blood to synthesise the rest of the antidote, which will neutralize the drug itself. Ironically, the chemical mixture of these compounds will temporarily put Cole in a hallucinogenic state.”

“Uh...can you explain that again?” Kai asked.

“The Horse tranquilizer and sedative will work together to stop the hallucinations and increased brain activity. Cole’s blood will be turned into an antidote that will treat the drug itself. It’s basic chemistry” Dareth-2 explained.

Everyone but Pixal and Zane starred at Dareth-2 and Nya asked, “Since when do you know about chemistry?”

“I have a PhD in Chemistry.” Dareth-2 made a show of polishing his fingernails off on his gi, “Really, it’s Animal Biochemistry but you know.”

Silence and shock filled the room and Nya replied, “You? You have a PhD?”

“Of course I do” Dareth-2 declared, “How else am I going to be able to help the animals? Helping them give birth, creating medicine, all that mumbo jumbo is easier if you have an expertise in the chemical arts.”

“I don’t understand.” Nya thought out loud, “How? When?”

“Oh, after the whole Nadakhan thing,” Dareth-2 elaborated, “I decided that I could help the animals of Ninjago better if I actually knew what I was doing.”

Nya sat down in a chair, seemingly unable to comprehend this new information. How was Dareth-2, of all people, a doctor? She knew that this wasn't her Dareth but come on, it was still Dareth. There’s no way someone like him could be a doctor.

Lloyd interrupted Nya’s thinking by saying, “So do you need the tranquilizer and sedative?”

“Correct.” Pixal answered, “And luckily, they are located at the same Chemical lab.”

“Unluckily,” Zane added, “they’ll take three days to be ready to arrive, and even then, it could Pixal, Dareth-2, and I up to a week to create a stable cure.”

“So what are we supposed to do until then?” Jay demanded to know.

“We can continue watching Cyrus Borg-2 for any Legion attacks.” Lloyd suggested.

“You guys can go do that, but i’m staying here.” Jay decided.

Pixal looked at Zane and Dareth-2 and then said, “As long as you provide no distractions.”

“I won't,” Jay promised.

“Good,” Pixal said before turning to Zane and Dareth-2, “Come on, let us engage in our development of the cure.”

The next day

“How are you doing?”

Kai looked up from his orange juice, “You’ve already asked me that earlier Lloyd.”

The Green ninja sat next to Kai and replied, “Yeah, but you weren’t being honest then, or the time before then either.”

Kai sighed, “I’m fine, Lloyd, you don’t need to baby me.”

“But if I was in your place, you’d be checking on me too.” Lloyd argued.

Kai didn’t respond, letting Lloyd know he was right. But that wasn't the point, Lloyd had felt the lack of unity within Kai the moment he left prison. Kai had been struggling with something since, Lloyd just couldn’t figure out what it was. Now, with everything that’s happened, he’d be surprised if kai had truly been ok.

“I’m just saying,” Lloyd started, “I know things haven’t been easy for you recently. You got out of jail and immediately found out that Skylor almost died, then we found whole other timelines. You haven’t worn a gi since you came back. Then Kai-3 killed Dick and–”

“Lloyd.” Kai interrupted, “Stop talking, I told you i’m fine.”

Lloyd shifted in his seat, “...I know, I just wanted to make sure you were ok.”

“Well I am.” Kai bluntly answered.

“...Well, if you ever want to talk,” Lloyd started.

“Lloyd.” Kai quietly spoke up, “I love you and I know you’re just trying to help but please, fuck off.”

Lloyd knew that Kai wasn’t trying to insult him, he just didn’t want to deal with his issues right now. Lloyd’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of an alarm.

“Saved by the bell.” Kai muttered as he and Lloyd made their way to the map room of the monastery.

Lloyd and Kai dashed into the room to find Skylor, Cole-2, and Kai-2 had already located the crime in progress. 

“Borg?” Lloyd guessed.

“Yeah.” kai-2 confirmed, “Legion guards are breaking the tower. The one day we’re not doing surveillance… Anyways, Cole-2, Skylor, and I are going to stop it.”

“I’m coming with you.” Lloyd announced.

As the others left to embark on their mission, Skylor looked to Kai, “You wanna join in on the fun?”

Kai shook his head, “No.”

Skylor frowned, “You sure?”

“Yeah, Skylor.” Kai confirmed, “I’m not up for it.”

Skylor looked Kai in the eyes, trying to see what was going on with him. Kai saw what Skylor was doing and turned away. Skylor decided that the two of them needed a conversation later and then took off to join the other ninja.

Skylor, Lloyd, Kai-2, and Cole-2 landed at Cyrus Borg-2’s tower, only to find that the battle was over. There were signs of explosions all across the slightly burnt and destroyed lobby. Over across the lobby was Cyrus Borg-2, taking to what looked like one of his security guards. Kai-2 led the group to Borg-2 who took notice and rolled his eyes before the security guard ran away.

“Borg,” Kai-2 called out, “are you ok?”

“Of course I am.” Cyrus Borg 2 spat out, “I have some of the best defenses in this city.”

Cyrus Borg 2 turned to move away but slightly frustrated Kai-2 blocked his path, “Borg please, the man who’s hunting you is very dangerous. We can protect you–”

“You?” Cyrus Borg 2 challenged, “You can’t protect anyone or anything. Who do you think protected the city after it was destroyed? Me. I rebuilt everything, I provided access to better weaponry and transportation to the whole city. All you ninja do is ruin everything under the guise of protecting it.”

“Now you listen to–” Kai-2 stopped and calmed himself with a deep breath, “...then can you at least go into hiding?”

Borg-2 shook his head, “Of course not! Who else will watch over the city’s power grid? And what of the E.M.R.C.’s? They need to be emptied out soon and I refuse to be absent when it happens.”

“E.M.R.C.?” Skylor asked.

Lloyd thought back to what Zane had said and responded, “Electromagnetic...something container.”

“ElectroMagnetic Radiation Container.” Borg-2 corrected, “And they’re too important for me to just abandon them.”

Cole-2 pinched his nose, “Then let us do surveillance on you. We’ll stay out of the way and let you do whatever you want. We’ll be close enough to protect you and the E.M.R.C control board and you won’t have to change your routine.”

Cyrus Borg-2 narrowed his eyes as he considered what Cole-2 said.

“And,” Kai-2 added, “if some of us are here, there’s a lower chance of anyone being able to damage the E.M.R.C.s or the power grid in here. Isn’t protecting them more important than your feelings towards us?”

Borg-2 frowned, “Hmmp....Fine, but I only want two of you in here at a time. You’re to stay in the break room unless something bad happens and I will not hesitate to remove you if you do anything stupid, by any means necessary.”

“Understood.” Kai-2 replied.

Borg-2 sighed, “I’ll have them prepare the break room to your liking. You can start on Monday.”

Kai-2 nodded, it wasn’t exactly what he wanted but he was honestly surprised that Borg-2 was being this cooperative. Kai-2 knew when to pick his battles.

“Thank you Cyrus.” Kai-2 offered.

Cyrus Borg-2’s only response was to nod his head and glare. Kai-2 could tell that the ninja were wearing out their welcome.

Kai-2 turned to the other ninja, “Come on, guys. Let’s go.”

Once they were out of Cyrus Borg-2’s earshot, Skylor spoke up, “He must be fun at parties.”

Lloyd shook his head, “It’s weird seeing Borg so…”

“Hateful?” Kai-2 asked, “He’s had it in for us ever since Nadakhan attacked. He blames the Ninja for Ninjago City’s destruction.”

Lloyd instinctively went to defend but hesitated, he still didn’t know the history between the Quasiverse ninja and Borg-2.

“I don’t blame him for it.” Cole-2 replied, pulling Lloyd out of his thoughts. 

“Me neither.” Kai-2 agreed, “Come on, let’s get back to the monastery.”

Two days later

Skylor-2 held up the framed photograph of her Maya, and Kai-2. It’d been Maya’s first time seeing Santa and the whole gang had been excited to see the event, even Garmadon-2 couldn’t help but grin. Skylor-2 sadly chuckled as she remembered how all the ninja were waiting in line, surrounded by little children, to go see the mall Santa. Eventually, everyone had gathered behind the camera as Kai-2 and Skylor-2 posed with Maya and Santa. If only they knew what was going to happen beforehand.   
Skylor-2 touched Maya’s photographed face as she felt her lips tremble and her eyes water. She took a deep breath and rubbed her eyes as the door behind her opened. Skylor-2 didn’t have to turn around to know that it was Kai-2, no one else would’ve entered their room unannounced.

“Hey…” Kai-2 softly offered.

Skylor-2 didn’t respond.

Kai-2 took a deep breath and said, “Skylor, I know you’re mad at me, and i’m sorry. I should’ve talked with you before rejecting Kai-3’s deal.”

Skylor-2 bit her lip as she thought about the deal Kai-3 had offered to them. They give him Cyrus Borg-2, and they get Maya back. Skylor-2 knew that whatever Kai-3 had planned for Cyrus Borg-2 wasn’t good. But that wasn’t the issue, the issue was that Kai-3 had refused the deal without even getting her opinion. He treated her as if she wasn’t also Maya’s mother. 

“Skylor…” Kai-2 started, “please talk to me.”

Skylor softly sighed, “What do you want me to say Kai?”

“I want you to yell at me.” Kai-2 admitted, “Scream at me, tell me i’m an idiot, tell me that I was wrong.”

Skylor-2 turned to face Kai-2, “This isn’t about me being angry, it’s about you treating me like a second class parent.”

Kai-2 winced at that, “You know that’s not how I think of you.”

“Well you acted like it.” Skylor-2’s voice raised every so slightly, “You didn’t even try to talk to me about Maya. We could’ve brought her home and you made the decision not to bring her home without listening to what I had to say.”

Kai-2 took a seat on their bed, “Skylor...it was in the heat of the moment, I–”

“It doesn’t matter!” Skylor-2’s voice cracked, “We’re a team, you don’t get to make decisions like that on your own. This isn't the time for you to be the Green ninja, we’re married, we’re in this together! I–I…”

Skylor-2 couldn’t hold it in anymore and she started sobbing to herself. Kai-2 walked over and hugged Skylor-2.

“I miss her so much.” Skylor-2 confessed.

“I do too.” Kai-2 agreed.

Skylor-2 heard sniffling and looked up to see her husband crying as well. Skylor-2 stood up and addressed Kai-2. Unfortunately, it was at that moment that they were summoned to the mp room. 

Skylor-2 rubbed her eyes when Kai-2 put his hand on her shoulder, “I’ll go. You can stay if you want, I'll cover for you.” 

Skylor-2 appreciated the gesture but didn’t feel right sending Kai-2 out there by himself. She already hated how Kai-2 seemed to muffle his emotions while working. Sometimes, it felt like Kai-2 and the Green ninja were two different people. Sure enough, Kai-2 wiped the tears from his eyes and put on the same resolute look. Skylor-2 didn't want to send Kai-2 out there on his own.

“Come on,” Skylor-2 got up from her chair, “let’s go see what they want.”

As it turned out, the horse tranquilizer and sedative were ready to be picked up. After a mild deliberation, Kai and Kai-2 were chosen to get the tranquilizer and sedative. About an hour later, they had walked out of the chemistry lab with the tranquilizer and sedative packed neatly into a duffle bag. The two of them decided to walk to the nearest bus stop since they didn’t know what effect riding a dragon would have on the tranquilizer and sedative.  
Kai-2 was dressed in his green gi. Kai was wearing dark jeans with a red short sleeve shirt. He also donned a pair of cheap sunglasses and a red ball cap hat to hide his identity since the general public didn’t need to know about the doppelgangers and multiple timelines.  
While they were walking to the bus stop, Kai-2 observed the silence and decided to extend a small olive branch to Kai.

“I can hold it if you wanted.” Kai-2 offered while pointing to the duffle bag.

Kai gripped it tighter, “Look, no offense, but this could save my Cole’s life. I’d feel just a little more comfortable if I held it.”

Kai-2 nodded and recuperated from his botched conversation attempt. Kai-2 didn’t like this distance between the two of them, and while Kai had seemed to not hate him as much, Kai-2 could still feel the resentment there. Kai-2 thought back to his conversation with Nya and remembered what she said. 

‘Just be there, Kai values loyalty. Once he knows you won’t sell him out or throw him away, Kai will warm up to you.’

Kai decided that he would try another conversation, and this time, he’d take Nya’s advice.

“I’m not going to sell you out, Kai.” Kai-2 announced.

Kai frowned with confusion, “What?”

“I’m not going to sell you out.” Kai-2 repeated, “I don’t know what you think of me but i’m on your side. Kai-3 and Ronin-3 attacked us both. They stole my baby and almost killed your Skylor. Like it or not, we’re in this together, and I’ll have your back no matter what.”

Kai stared at Kai-2, “What the hell are you doing?”

The questions didn’t have any maliciousness to it, just confusion. Kai-2 grabbed Kai’s arm to slow him down so they could talk. Both Kais stopped in front of a dark and trash covered alleyway and Kai-2 continued speaking. 

“I’m serious. I’m not going anywhere, i’m never going to hurt you or anyone you love, I promise.” Kai-2 promised. 

Kai stared at Kai-2, trying to figure out what game he might be playing. Kai opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something. Suddenly, a ball of fire appeared seemingly out of nowhere and blasted Kai-2 down the alley. The Green ninja hit a brick wall and then fell onto the ground. 

“Oh fuck!” Kai yelled out as he ran to check on Kai-2. 

Kai leaned down and helped Kai-2 up, “You ok?”

“He’s fine.” A voice answered from behind them.

Both Kais turned around to find Kai-3 approaching them. Kai-2 took note of how Kai-3 blocked the only exit to the alleyway and had two katanas strapped to his back.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time.” Kai-3 said.

Kai’s temper soared as he looked at the man who killed Dick and hurt Nya. He charged at kai-3, who sent a stream of harsh burning fire towards Kai. Kai dived out of the way and Kai-2 launched an energy ball at Kai-3. Kai-3 performed a frontflip over the energy blast and sent a surge of fire towards the two other Kais when he landed. Kai ducked under the blast while Kai-2 blocked it with his own energy. However, before either of them could go on the attack, Kai-3 held his hands up as a sign of non-aggression.

“Enough!” Kai-3 yelled out, “I didn’t come here for petty skirmishes.” 

Kai-2 glared at Kai-3, “Where’s Maya?”

Kai-3 looked at him and then turned to Kai, “I have a proposition for you.”

“Hey asshole!” Kai-2 yelled out, “Where is my daughter?!”

Kai-3 sighed and turned to Kai-2, “Safe. She’s safe.”

Kai-2 charged up two balls of energy, to which Kai-3 laughed.

“Are you trying to threaten me?” Kai-3 pondered, “I’ve been studying your two worlds for over a year, I know everything about you. You’re a half rate ninja and a third rate leader. You failed to prevent the death of your Wu and managed to push your Jay into destroying your Ninjago City. I’ve been infiltrating your city for over a year and you were none the wiser. Your prison is under my control, your warehouses are falling into my grasp. I've been running circles around you with next to know effort while you’ve been sitting here with your thumb up your ass. And you think you pose a threat to me? Please, you can’t even keep your own daughter safe. You’re nothing to me.”

Kai-2’s eyes grew wide before he launched his two energy balls at Kai-3. Kai-3 dodged both of them before blasting Kai-2 back with his own fire. Kai-2 hit his head against the wall of the alleyway.

Kai-3 stared at the downed Green ninja, “Hmmm. No matter how strong or capable your enemy is, they always seem to fail when they succumb to their emotions. You would know something about that, wouldn’t you, Kai?”

Kai carefully set the duffle bag down behind a trash can and stared down Kai-3. He wanted nothing more to tear into his evil doppelganger but Kai-3 was right, letting his emotions take over wouldn’t help anyone.

“Oh stop acting as if your emotions aren’t already controlling you.” Kai-3 called out, it was as if he was replying to Kai’s thoughts.

Kai-2 slowly stood back up, though he did look a little worse for wear. Kai spoke up to draw Kai-3’s attention away from Kai-2.

“What do you want with Cyrus Borg?”

“He’ll be useful for another mission once i’m done with this one.” Kai-3 admitted.

“Well you’re doing a pretty shit job at kidnapping him.” Kai-2 slurred as he leaned against the wall.

Kai shook his head at Kai-2, silently telling him not to draw any attention to himself. 

Kai-3 smirk, “True, my guards’ performance has been less than satisfactory.” Kai-3 then looked at Kai, “Fortunately I, like you Kai, am used to overcoming hardship.”

“What do you want?” Kai demanded to know.

“You.” Kai-3 started, “I want to recruit you, Kai, to join me in leading the Legion.”

“What?” Kai tried to process what Kai-3 had just said, “No, why the fuck would I ever join you?! You killed Dick, you attacked my sister, I should kill you right now.”

Kai-3 seemed completely unphased by kai’s threat, “Dick? I don’t recall killing anyone named–” Kai-2 stopped and smiled as he made an inference, “Oh, you mean your protege? What can I say, you should’ve taught him to know when to abandon a doomed fight. At the very least, he had heart, which is more than can be said for you.”

“Stop acting like you fucking know me.” Kai demanded.

“Know you?” Kai-3 questioned, “I don’t just know you, Kai, I AM you. We are one in the same, albeit save for a few key events.” 

Kai-3 circled Kai as he continued, “You’re the original Kai from the original timeline. Me,–” Kai-3 nodded to Kai-2, “–the useless one, we’re both merely variations of yourself. We were all the same person until two small events separated us.” 

“When Lloyd lost the battle with the Overlord.” Kai said, “That’s when your timeline changed from mine.”

“And yet I remember everything from beforehand.” Kai-3 noted before pointing to Kai-2, “His timeline was changed earlier, he was separated from us when his Misako died. He’ll claim to know you, Kai, but he doesn’t. But you and I are closer, we shared the exact same life all the way until our Lloyds battled the Lord of Darkness. So yes, Kai I do know you, I understand you on a deeper level than you could ever imagine. And you have no idea what you’re capable of.”

“I know what I am.” Kai argued. 

“He won’t join you,” Kai-2 told Kai-3, “He's a good person.”

“Look at me, Kai,” Kai-3 gestured to himself, “I’m the best of my ninja. I’m the leader of the Legion and second only to Lord Garmadon himself. You could be something special, a sight to behold. Yet instead of harnessing your potential, everyone treats you as filth instead.”

“I’m not gonna fall for your tricks.” Kai asserted. 

“You could be the best of the ninja, but no one sees it or appreciates you.” Kai-3 continued, “You’ve had to make all the hard choices your whole life. You gave up your childhood and part of your conscience to provide for Nya. And what does she do? She sits on her high horse and looks down at you as if you’re not the only reason she’s still alive today.”

“Don’t you dare talk about my sister!” Kai demanded.

Kai could feel his heart shake with nervousness. Kai-3 was right, until Lloyd fought the Overlord, he lived the same life as Kai. That meant...that meant that he was capable of becoming this dark evil version of himself.

“Don’t listen to him Kai,” Kai-2 pleaded, “he's just trying to get to you.”

Kai-3 ignored Kai-2 and continued, “Everything you’ve done for Ninjago and they lock you up instead. And for what? Because you sold a few drugs? Because you had the strength to do what you had to do to survive?”

“Shut up.” Kai shouted.

“Did they think about all the nights you starved yourself so Nya could eat? Or the beatings you took for not making your nightly sales quota? Or the sleepless night filled to the brim with stress? Or all the times you were filled with hopelessness,” Kai-3 asked, “All of which you were accustomed to before you were even a teen? They don’t think anything of you, not Nya, not Kai-2, and most certainly not Lloyd.”

“That’s not true, Kai” Kai-2 insisted.

Kai-3 ignored Kai-2 and persisted, “You’re unappreciated, unwelcome, constantly taken advantage of. With the ninja, you’re treated like nothing, you’re nothing.” 

“Shut the fuck up!” Kai screamed. 

Kai-3 softened his voice, But with me, you could be something, you could be a sight to behold.”

Kai looked down and noticed that his breathing was a little heavier, as if he was suffocating. Damn it, he always got like this when people brought up his childhood. It didn’t help that Kai had briefly considered a lot of the opinions that Kai-3 was now speaking.

Kai-3 flashed a sadistic smirk, “First, I'll have to break you, show you true suffering. Only after you’re can we build you back up, just as I was. I’ll train you to be better, stronger, faster, and merciless. And when you’re ready, You’ll be a force to reckon with.”

Kai looked between Kai-2 and Kai-3 and couldn’t help but admit that kai-3 wasn’t wrong. Kai-2 probably saw him as nothing more than just a failure. Kai-3 might have a point, Nya never did thank him for what he did. Kai scowled, all the trouble he went through and she wanted to lock him up for it. Did she not realize that he was the only reason she was alive?  
No, the point wasn’t to be recognised. He took care of her because it was his job as her older brother, not because it would gain any points. He sold drugs to care for her, but still wasn’t the right thing to do. He served his sentence because that was the right thing to do. Kai-3 may have been right that no one threw him a parade, but that wasn’t what it was about, right?

“No.” Kai not so confidently answered.

“No?” Kai-3 asked.

“No.” Kai repeated, “You’re right, what I did was for survival but that doesn’t mean it was right.”

Kai-3 pursed his lips, “It wasn’t right even if it was for survival? Look where that line of thinking got you. You’re an ex-con, a failed ninja, and an insecure pathetic...imp. A supposed master of fire who can’t conjure a single flame. The people you claim to care about will turn on you, just as you’ve turned on yourself.” 

Kai-2 finally gathered enough of his strength to stand on his own and stood between Kai and Kai-3, “Get out of here, now.”

Kai-3 stared directly into Kai’s eyes, “I will break you Kai. I’ll hunt down your loved ones, I’ll hurt you both physically and mentally, I promise. And when i’m done breaking you, I’ll build you back up and help you find your fire again. Then we’ll see where your loyalties truly lie.”

With that, Kai-3 turned around and used airjitzu scale and disappeared on top of one of the nearby buildings. Kai stared at the building, waiting for Kai-3 to return. When he didn’t, Kai walked over and grabbed the duffle bag. Kai-2 called him but Kai wasn’t focusing on him. Kai-3 had threatened him and his loved ones. Nya, Lloyd, and Skylor, all of the ninja were close to him but those three were in his immediate proximity, which means they’d be in Lloyd's crosshairs.   
Kai felt a mixture of numbness and fear as he grabbed the duffle bag and started walking away. Even if he rejected Kai-3, kai couldn’t help but wonder how much of what he said was true. Did they really see him as useless? Was he truly just nothing? Kai kept walking, lost in thought.

“Kai!” Kai-2 finally called out.

Kai turned around and kai-2 asked, “Are you ok?”

Kai looked away from Kai-2, “Come on, let’s get back to the monastery.”

Then 

A young Kai stepped into the small apartment and locked the door behind him. He took a second to reshift his torn backpack before continuing on. The moon shined through the cheap curtains as he made his way to the bedroom door, his footsteps accented with a light limp. Kai tried to ignore the cut on his right eyebrow and the taste of blood on his lips. He gently opened the door to the empty room. The dust was starting to build up, he’d after to clean up the room soon before he had to waste money on medicine. The room only had one old and creaky bed in it, save for a doll or two. In the bed was a small child, motionless and starved. 

“Nya.” Kai whispered as he took off his backpack, “Nya wake up, I got us some food.”

Kai shook Nya until she woke up. Then he opened up his backpack and pulled out a small loaf of sliced bread. It was a little deformed but still edible. Kai opened up the bag and gave a slice of bread to Nya. Nya looked up at Kai and gasped.

“You’re hurt.” Nya whined.

“Fuck.” Kai muttered to himself, “Hey, it’s ok. I’m fine, i’ll clean up right now. Here, eat this.”

Nya sat up and started munching on a slice of bread. Kai put the rest of the bread in his bag, he’d have a slice tomorrow, that way the bread would last longer. Kai kissed Nya’s forehead and then walked to the bathroom. He took a look at the mirror and winced.  
His left eye had been blackened and started to swell. The cut on his eyebrow was deeper than he had anticipated. Kai hoped that he wouldn’t have to go to the doctors. For the most part, the blood had dried so it was just a matter of cleaning it out. Kai turned on the tap water and used the cold water to clean his face while recapping his frankly awful day.   
Kai had just started his new job selling drugs for the Wolves gang, in fact, it was still his first week selling drugs. He was surprised they’d let a kid work for them but he didn’t complain, he needed the money anyways. It was easier than he thought, most of the people buying were already hooked or well on their way. It didn’t take much effort for Kai to meet his daily quota, that didn’t mean that he was ok with it. The part that really got to Kai was how young some of the kids were. He hated seeing other kids, some of which looked around his age, wasting their life on these drugs. Kai didn’t understand everything about the whole drug operations but he understood enough to know that he wouldn’t ever try it.   
Kai thought about earlier today when he got jumped. There were three of them, all teenagers, and they chased him down the squalors, trying to get at his drugs. His partner, Paco, had tried to stop them but they had just pushed him aside. Unfortunately, Kai wasn’t fast enough. He was pushed onto the ground and cut his eyebrow in the process. They swarmed and when he fought, one of them clocked him in the left eye. They didn’t take his money, just the drugs before running off. The Wolves weren’t happy and let Kai know that the cost of the lost drugs would come out of his and Paco’s payments. Kai didn’t complain, he’d seen how sadistic the Wolves could get with their punishment and considered himself lucky that he wasn’t physically punished like others were. Perhaps it was because he was young, or maybe it was because it was only his first week. Either way, Kai counted his blessings that he walked away with only a cut eyebrow and a black eye.  
Kai felt a pang of guilt in his stomach. He did know that what he was doing was wrong, it made him feel sick whenever he took the time to actually think of his situation and his choices. Kai didn’t want to do it, but he had no choice, he was the only source of income. The blacksmith shop could only cover rent, they needed the money.  
Kai looked over towards Nya who was eating her bread and tried to swallow his guilt. It didn’t matter what Kai had felt, He was going to have to get used to his new job if he and Nya were going to make it. There was no other way, Kai had to do it, for her. Kai felt the cut in his right eyebrow, it stung when he touched it. Kai sighed, this was his job now, and he was going to have to learn to like it.

Now

Kai slowly rubbed his right eyebrow as he reminisce back to that night. The cut had healed a long time ago. Yet sometimes, while remembering his “childhood,” Kai swore he could still feel the sting of the cut. It was about two in the morning and yet Kai couldn’t sleep after his run-in with kai-3 earlier. After delivering the tranquilizer and sedative to Zane, Kai-2 recapped the ambush to the rest of the team. It was decided that Nya, Lloyd, Kai, and Skylor wouldn’t do anything alone for the time being. Despite various protests, Kai avoided everyone, he just wanted to be alone. And that’s how he got to this point, sitting on a rail on the back porch of the monastery and brooding like some emotionally stunted fuck.

“Couldn’t sleep?”

Kai turned around to see that Kai-2 was standing behind him. Kai didn’t have the energy to argue with him so he just turned around.

Kai-2 came up and leaned on the railing, “I couldn’t sleep either. Meeting you was one thing, but Kai-3? It’s...unnerving seeing someone like that and knowing that they’re a version of yourself. I couldn’t help but lay awake wondering how many things would’ve had to go differently for me to turn into him.”

Kai closed his eyes and steadied his breathing. Kai-3 was right about Kai-2 not understanding him. He didn’t know how bad Kai struggled to get where he was now. Kai-2’s loved by his people, he was adored by them. Kai was thrown in a cell to make sure that Nya didn’t starve. He knew that he did the wrong thing and he knew that he had to be imprisoned. But he still felt a little frustrated by it all, or was that Kai-3 getting to him?

“I was thinking earlier,” Kai-2 started, “Kai-3 was right about one thing. I don’t know what you’ve been through, but Kai-3, he’s trying to isolate you. He’s trying to convince you that he’s the only one looking out for you, but it’s not true.”

“I know.” Kai muttered.

Kai-2 sighed, “I know, I just–I know that he got to me with some of those comments. It’s harder to ignore it when it’s your evil twin, especially when they know all the right buttons to push.”

“Why are you trying to act like you give a shit?” Kai somberly asked.

Kai-2 stood up and sat on the rail next to Kai, “I’ve always given a shit about, Kai. Even if you weren’t my doppelganger, I’d still care about you. Though you do make it hard to care sometimes.”

“Why can’t you just leave me alone?” Kai questioned. “I’ve yelled at you, fought you, called you names, why won’t you understand that I don’t want you around?”

Kai-2 let out a deep breath, “Nya and I talked about you. We talked about you being in jail, your past, why I haven’t seen you were a gi yet, everything. She thinks that you’re not the Fire ninja because you don't see yourself as a ninja.”

Kai didn’t respond so Kai-2 continued, “Everyone makes mistakes, Kai, even ninja. It doesn’t make you any less of a hero.”

Kai clenched his jaw, “Did you come out here to tell me what a loser I am?”

Kai-3 shook his head, “No, I came out here to tell you that I get it. You just got out of jail and then you met me and I–”

“For fuck’s sake,” Kai angrily rolled his eyes, “do you really think everything’s about you?”

Kai-2 was caught off guard, “What? No that’s not what I–”

“You don’t get it, do you?” Kai interrupted, “I sold drugs to kids, Kai-2. I went to prison. And because I went to prison, I wasn’t there to stop my Zane from dying. I couldn’t protect my Skylor from getting shot and then thrown off a building. My Cole was dying in front of me and I couldn’t even see it. Do you know what people are going to see when they look up the Fire ninja years from? They’re gonna see a convict, a drug dealer, and a failure.   
My dad was a Fire ninja. He served in the first Serpentine War. He helped stop Krux and Acronix. He was a hero, he turned the Fire ninja into a hero. But do you think people are gonna see those parts? They’re going to see how I undid all of his work, they’ll see the things I did and they’ll be disgusted. Everything that he and I did is ruined. The people, the ninja, they all see me for what I am, a fucking failure. That’s the legacy I left for the Fire ninja...does that sound heroic to you?”

Kai-2 opened his mouth but no words came out, he didn’t know how to respond to that. Kai took note of kai-2’s response and got down from the railing.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Kai said as he walked into the monastery.

A week later

“We cannot afford to waste any more time.” Zane complained, “This next combination mustn’t fail.”

Dareth-2 looked up from his microscope, “I’m making it, it won’t fail. The sedative and tranquilizer is harder to bond than I thought, I just need to establish a covalent bond instead of a hydrogen bond. And I need Cole's blood before I can make any more progress.”

“It is almost completed.” Pixal assured.

Zane looked over Cole and was hit with another wave of worry. The two weeks had almost been up and Cole didn’t have much time left. The problem was the blood work, specifically it was that the drug laced blood was too unstable to directly extract without it becoming useless for the rest of the antidote. And because the drugs were in the oxygenated bloodstream, all of Cole’s blood was laced with the drug, so they couldn’t just work around it. 

Dareth-2 suddenly sat up from his chair, “I think i’ve got it, but I’m going to take a test before I do the real deal. I’ll be right back.”

Dareth-2 picked up his notebook and ran out of the room. Zane went to check Cole’s vitals. Instead, however, he caught Pixal giving a worried glance at Cole.

“We’ll save him.” Zane claimed.

Pixal turned to Cole, “After...after my Zane passed, Cole and I made a deal. Every Sunday, we would go to brunch and converse about the nature of our weeks. I would like to believe that we have grown closer in that time. Our last conversation was not our best, and then Skylor was injured and everything has been hectic ever since.”

“It won’t be your last conversation.” Zane said, “We’ll make sure he’s ok.”

Zane took a look at Cole and smiled as he thought of their times together, talking in the frozen forest, going to the farmers market, cooking pancakes, and going out to eat. Zane felt a warmth in his stomach as he realized how close he and Cole had gotten over the last couple of months. Cole was kind and lackadaisical, yet he knew how to be serious when he needed to be. Zane loved Cole’s self confidence and sometimes stubborn attitude. Zane just liked being around Cole in general.  
Zane didn’t want any harm to come to Cole. There had to be some way to stabilize the drugged laced blood. Neither Dareth-2, Zane, nor Pixal have been able to figure this out. Maybe the problem wasn’t the blood, maybe it was them. Zane was smart but no genius, Dareth-2 could only do so much with his Animal Biochemistry degree, and Zane didn’t know how much Pixal knew about any of this. Zane felt so useless, what was the point of being some advanced robot if he couldn’t even save his friend? Wait, Zane was a robot, that meant that he didn’t have to just rely on his own intellect.

“I need to access the internet.” Zane announced.

Pixal turned to face Zane, “The internet? I thought you had no interest in accessing the internet.”

Zane nodded, “We don’t have a choice, none of us have been able to figure this conundrum out, perhaps we, or I, need to learn to rely on the internet.”

Pixal looked at Cole, “Are you certain? It can be a very trying experience the first time–”

“If it means saving Cole, then yes.” Zane confirmed.

“...Ok,” Pixal agreed, “I am presume that you are not connected to the wifi?”

Zane shook his head and Pixal walked over to him, “Do you mind if I turn it on for you? If your build is anything like mine then I would need to access the back of your head.”

Zane took a deep breath and nodded and Pixal moved behind him. Zane felt Pixal feel around his head and then the back of his head was suddenly opened.

“I opened up the panel to your head circuitry.” Pixal explained, “This is where your switch to your internet connection is located. When I turn on your wireless connection, you will be exposed to the internet in its entirety. You have to think precise narrow thoughts, have clear intentions as to what part of the internet you want to access. If you think too broadly, you may risk sensory overload.”

“Ok,” Zane quietly said, “I can do this.”

“I will be there with you,” Pixal comforted, “I’ll provide advice to you. You need to find a way to stabilize drug altered blood. Please inform me if anything feels wrong. Are you ready?”

“Yes.” Zane confirmed.

Pixal flipped the switch and Zane instantly felt the connection go live. He was still in his own body, but it was as if his own body was merely a vessel to the greater internet. Zane felt overwhelmed, as if the entire internet was surrounding him, threatening to drown him. He was but a tiny little ship adrift in the infinite sea of the internet, except the entire internet was trying to flow into his mind all at once. However, he also felt the potential that it processed. Zane had all knowledge at his fingertips, beckoning to him. 

“Woah…” Zane muttered, his eyes wide open.

“Zane, can you hear me?” Pixal asked.

Slowly nodded his head, “You sound muffled.”

“You need to focus.” Pixal replied, “think of blood and drug stabilization.”

Blood and drug stabilization. Zane focused on those two terms. He waded through the internet, slowly pulling information together. It wasn’t to find the data, it was difficult to remain focused enough to not get lost in the abyss. Unfortunately, thinking about the worst case scenario hindered Zane’s focus and he felt the rest of the internet start to close in on him. 

“Focus Zane.” Pixal encoraged.

Blood and drug stabilization. Zane pushed back and felt himself being guided throughout the internet. Zane was being drawn more and more until new information suddenly popped into his head.

“Pixal,” Zane yelled out, “I think i’ve got something. How do I leave the internet?”

“You just have to choose to do it.” Pixal advised.

Zane thought about leaving the internet but nothing happened. Zane got nervous but quickly pushed those thoughts out of his head. No, he needed to get out of here. He WAS going to leave the internet. That seemed to do the trick and Zane suddenly his connection went dark. Zane dropped to the ground as he regained his bearings. He took a second to collect himself before Pixal helped him up.

“Are you ok?” Pixal questioned.

Zane stood up and regained his balance, “Yes. I know what to do. When we draw the drug infected blood, we have to put it in lower temperature to stabilize the drug and then we have to lower the amount of hydronium in the blood in order to lower the oxygen count and make it less susceptible to the effects of the drug. Only then can we combine it with the sedative and tranquilizer to create the cure.”

Pixal took a second to run everything in her head and then responded, “That is a more than adequate solution to our conflict. Good job Zane.”

Zane nodded, “Let’s go grab Dareth and then let’s make this cure.”

It was the morning of the next day and after an all nighter, Zane, Pixal, and Dareth-2 had finished the cure. Now they, Lloyd, Jay, Nya, Kai, Wu, and Skylor were in the medical room ready to wake Cole up.

“Are you sure it’s safe?” Jay asked.

“Don’t worry Jay,” Zane answered, “I won’t let anything happen to him.”

“We have performed numerous tests and are quite confident in the results.” Pixal added.

“We’ll wake him up,” Dareth-2 started, “get the old blood pumping before we give him the cure.”

“He will be rendered unconscious.” Pixal warned, “It is of nothing to be concerned of, but the cure will induce a very strong hallucination state and we feel that it will be safer for everyone if he’s put under until he is cured.” 

Lloyd nodded and turned to Zane, Pixal, and Dareth-2, “You guys have no idea how much we appreciate this.”

“I wasn’t going to let him die.” Pixal responded.

“It was nothing I couldn’t handle.” Dareth-2 yawned.

Zane looked down at Cole, “I’m just grateful he’s going to be ok.”

Nya cleared her throat, “So when does he wake up.”

“We weaned him off the medicine already.” Pixal explained, “It’s just a matter of time.”

And so they waited as seconds turned into minutes and minutes to hours. Occasionally bathroom breaks were had and snacks were brought into the room. Jay felt that the whole situation had felt very much like one of those scenes where they’re all waiting in the hospital waiting room. It wasn’t until late in the afternoon that Cole started stirring.

Jay jumped to his feet, “He’s waking up.”

Wu put his hand on Jay’s shoulder, “Calm yourself Jay, we need to be patient.”

The ninja circled the bed as Cole took in a deep breath and blinked his eyes open. Cole took a second to wake up and found himself surrounded by everyone.

“What happened?” Cole asked.

“You’re alive!” Jay exclaimed as he squeezed Cole into a hug.

Cole was taken aback and asked, “What’s going on?”

“The drugs you inhaled almost killed you.” Pixal explained, “You’re lucky we figured out a way to save you.”

“What?” Cole’s eyes widened.

Cole struggled to think back to his last memory. He was in his room listening to his music and then...oh no, he saw the hallucination of Zane and then he was out.

“How long was I out?” Cole asked with a little panic in his voice.

“Almost two weeks.” Lloyd answered.

“Two weeks?!” 

“Yeah, two weeks.” Nya angrily confirmed, “You’re an idiot, Cole. Why didn’t you say anything?! You could’ve died.”

“I am inclined to agree with Nya, in spite of her less than soothing tone.” Pixal spoke up, “You should have been more forthright with us.”

“You did put yourself in quite the pickle.” Dareth-2 confirmed, “I’ve seen koalas with a higher chance of living than you did.”

Cole looked away with guilt in his eyes and Jay jumped to his defense, “Lay off you guys. Cole, are you feeling ok?

“Yeah,” Cole meekly answered, “I feel fine.”

“For now,” Wu notepad, “Let’s not get too hasty with this, you’re still not out of the woods yet.”

Cole looked up, “What do you mean?”

“We just barely got the cure ready.” Zane explained, “We woke you up so we could deliver it to you.”

“The cure will fix you,” Pixal elaborated, “but it will also put subject you to a hallucination state. Admittedly, we do not know what exactly the experience will be but...it was preferable to the alternative.

Cole looked down, “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to worry everyone. We already had to deal with Kai-3 and the timelines. I thought it would just go away. I didn’t want to be a burden.”

Cole was telling the truth, but it was only half of the truth. The other half of the truth was that he didn’t want Zane to know he had been hallucinating about his Zane, he didn’t want to lose him again.

“Don’t worry about it.” Skylor advised, “We all make mistakes. All that matters is that you’re safe now.”

“Speaking of safe,” Pixal cut in, “We need to get the cure in you as soon as possible. Keep in mind that the cue may take a while to fully cleanse your system and you will be in said hallucination state for the duration of the time.”

“I understand.” Cole replied.

“Are you ready to receive the cure?” Pixal asked.

“Yes.” Cole confirmed, it’s not like he had much of a choice anyways.

Pixal nodded and Dareth-2 handed her the large syringe from the cooler. She steadied herself, lined up the needle with a vein on Cole’s left arm, and injected the cure. Cole winced as the needle penetrated his skin but he didn’t complain. It was a small price to pay for living. Once the serum had been full injected in Cole, the room had felt at ease. It was like everyone had collectively let out a sigh of relief. 

“Thank you.” Cole said to Pixal.

“Now we just need to wait for sleeping beauty to go under,” Dareth-2 claimed.

Jay squeezed Cole’s hand and then stood up in front of everyone, “Hey guys, can you give me and Cole a second?”

Zane looked a little saddened at that request and Pixal responded, “You have to let me know when Cole goes under. There is no danger but I prefer to be safe instead of sorry.”

“I will.” Jay assured.

“Ok.” Lloyd started, “Come on guys, let’s give them some space.”

Everyone but Kai and Jay started leaving the room and Cole suddenly announced, “Wait. Zane, can you come here for a second.”

Zane turned around and walked back to Cole, “Was there anything I can do for you?”

Cole shook his head, “No. I just wanted to thank you for saving my life.”

Zane smiled, “It was a team effort between myself, Pixal, and Dareth-2.”

“Still,” Cole insisted, “Thank you.”

Zane placed his hand on Cole’s forearm, “You don’t have to thank me. I wasn't going to let anything happen to you.”

Jay noticed how Cole seemed to blush when Zane touched him but decided to save that conversation for later. Zane stood away from the bed, nodded at both Kai and Jay, and exited the room. 

Once Zane had left, Kai approached the bed but didn’t look Cole in the eyes, “I’ll make this quick. I knew something was wrong when we were at Borg towers, I should’ve said something but I didn’t. I fucked up and i’m sorry.”

Cole shook his head, “You don’t need to be sorry, Kai. It was my fault anyways for not telling anyone.”

Kai grumbled and then left the room. Cole shifted his weight and suddenly felt a wave of drowsiness wash over him. Cole started to feel himself losing consciousness, the cure was working fast.

“Jay,” Cole started with a slurred speech, “what did you want to talk about?”

Jay held Cole’s hand, “You know that I care about you right? No matter what happens, you’ll always be one of the most important people in my life and i'll never stop caring about you.”

“What?” Cole asked, “Of course I know that.”

Cole leaned back and closed his eyes, “You’re my best friend…”

Jay felt relieved, after hearing about Jay-2 and Cole-2, he wanted to reinforce their relationship. After Cole was cured, Jay would have to sit him down and explain the story. 

“Hey Cole–” Jay started, only to see that the Earth ninja had fallen asleep.

Jay sighed as Cole slumbered before going to get Pixal.

Cole felt a haze in his head as he woke up in his bed. Cole looked around and determined that he was in his room on the Destiny’s Bounty. This must’ve been the hallucination state Pixal was talking about. Everything is a little slow and muffled, like he was underwater. Cole would be lying if he said that he enjoyed this feeling, yet as he laid in his bed, he became more and more accustomed to it and details about his room became clear. It was as if the world was loading right in front of him.  
Cole didn’t think that anyone else was in this fever dream, which made the sudden noise of clanging all the more shocking. Cole felt compelled to check out the noise and he soon found himself swinging his legs to get out of his bed.  
Cole stood up and immediately had to catch himself against the wall from falling. Cole shook out his legs to wake them up and started navigating towards the sounds. Cole located the source of the noise to be in the kitchen. He entered the kitchen and felt his jaw drop.   
In front of Cole was a figure who was decorating a cake with chocolate frosting. He had shiny metal skin, bright blue eyes, and was donned in a pink apron.

Cole’s heart dropped and shock overtook him, “Zane?”

Zane turned around with a chocolate cake and smiled as if the situation was completely normal, “Greetings Cole. I have been awaiting your arrival.”

Cole shook his head, “How?”

Zane grinned and then nodded his head towards the dining table, “Please, take a seat. I believe that it is time you and I had a heart to heart conversation.”


End file.
